Bad Influence
by Typicalweirdo
Summary: "An assasin with a good conscience? theres no such thing!" "Is so! I am one" Oh yeah? that just makes you a bad influence"  rated M for cursing and sexual themes from time to time XanxusX Oc cloud guardian replacement prologue and ch 1 are together
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : I do not own Katekyo Hitman reborn

Warning: this story is unbeta'd I really need one – hint-hint-

**Enjoy.**

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Bad Influence

Chapter 01: Everyone knows that assassination squad means dysfunctional family in Italian

There are many ways to tell if someone is nervous. Whether it is conspicuous or not; nervousness is not an emotion that is easily hidden. When a person is nervous usually they would use an expression such as "Oh I have butterflies in my stomach" or "I'm getting cold feet". Such figures of speech were an understatement for someone about to join the Varia squad. When a person is nervous, they might bite their nails, they might fidget , they might sweat, and they might even scratch themselves from a false sense of irritation. Again, that is an understatement for someone about to join the Varia squad. When someone is going to join the Varia squad , they do not have butterflies in there stomach. No. They have a swarm of angry wasps buzzing about in their stomach. A person joining that squad would not have cold feet, but have ice blocks where their feet used to be. Any nervous movement would be magnified by a thousand for someone joining the Varia. That much is a given, but how do you display that emotion when you're supposed to be the aloof cloud guardian who is sitting in the back of a limo that seemed to be driving painfully slow?

"Excuse me , but are you alright back there?"

" Oh, I'm fine"

* * *

The answer to that question : You don't.

* * *

Scarlett Phobia sat in the back of the limo feeling all of the feelings described from the swarm of bee's to the ice blocks but she was forced to wear a straight face and wait until she got to her destination. From there she'll decide either to press forward or to run away as soon as the limo pulled off .

_No. I cant do that, not to Nono*_. She thought as she reached into her black koi fish printed tote purse and felt for a piece of stationary. After a moment she felt the folded sheet underneath her palm. She withdrew the paper and let her eyes skim the paper.

_Scarlett Phobia, _

_, codename: Serpente di Inferno is herby declared a Varia quality assassin. Such an achievement gains you entrance into the Varia assassination squad by order of Vongola Nono. Within the period of a week and a day, you will relocate yourself to live among the other Varia members in their headquarters as their replacement cloud guardian. A limo will be sent to fetch you after the set time. Have your luggage packed and carry your official Vongola Undercover Assassination. Ops badge on your person so your identity can be verified on the day of your relocation We are delighted to have you as the new addition to the Varia squad and will be awaiting your arrival._

_-Timoteo, Vongola Nono_

_I have to join if Nono wants me to he's done so much for me, I could never refuse him_

She reads further to the corner of the note written in small fine print.

P.S. _You've done so well, I'm so proud of you. You've grown up, both as a mafiosa and as a young lady. Continue to do well and do me proud._

He punctuated the end of the sentence with a smiley face, much like how a teenager would punctuate a text message.

_Especially if he keeps pulling at my heart strings, I bet the old man planned that knowing, I have a guilty conscience and half a mind to RUN FOR DEAR LIFE_

Scarlett shakes her head from side to side , while trying to think of something else , that way she could calm her self by thinking of things that she liked, as the Limo drove to her destination.

_I like pumpkins, pumpkins make me happy_

Thinking of Pumpkins worked only for a while that is until the pumpkins made her think of orange.

_If I'm not mistaken the squad's martial artist's wears an orange frilly coat_. She felt her stomach lurch.

_C'mon Scarlett you're a guardian of cloud this isn't your mentality, think of something else…Alright lying to myself wont work for sure I know myself well enough , that on a good day I don't fit cloud mentality, oh well fake it 'til I make it.

* * *

_

She took a deep breath.

* * *

_The ocean , the ocean is calming… unless there are sharks in the water._

She shudders, remembering there's a member of the Varia who is notorious for fighting ruthlessly by the name of Squalo ,Italian for shark. She shut her eyes with one last attempt to calm her thoughts.

_White, I'm what most consider innocent for being an assassin, I don't kill the innocent, I'm a virgin, I'll wear white to my wedding…

* * *

_

Then she thought of death.

* * *

_Don't look into the white light._

_Red. I'm wearing a blouse with red polka dots, I have on red high heels like the Kellie Pickler song that I love_

All things were well up until she thought of two malevolent looking red eyes glaring at her. The mental image plagued her for a moment. She groaned and let her head lean into the tinted window to her left as she took a deep breath.

_Red … not a nice thing to think about when my boss has two menacing eyes that color. _

She grimaced then shivered as she felt something cold and scaly around her midriff then up to her arm slithering up her shoulder. No, it wasn't the nervous feeling taking on shape but , her long time legless friend .Scarlett lets out a sigh of relief and looks to her shoulder. She saw to opaque blue eyes looking back her and a slitted tongue flicked out to her face. This is her friend , Amico,*a black mamba*, that is her life companion. She pats the tamed serpent on his head but then a thought comes to her.

_Amico is harmless but my limo driver doesn't know this; this is bad. _Scarlett hisses lowly, a form of command , known only between Amico and herself which is roughly translated as "Amico…, STAY OUT OF SIGHT".

"Are you sure you're alright ?" The limo driver asked looked at Scarlett through the drivers mirror upfront.

"Fine! Just fine!" Scarlett by this time had Amico tucked away down her shirt .

"You, know… you've been sayin' you're fine this whole drive but you've been fidgeting and holding you're stomach, you're nervous aren't you". Scarlett sighed and was about to reply when she felt something squirm against her stomach making her jump and gasp from the surprise. Scarlett looks down and glares at Amico. She pressed her hand against the lump where Amico was cloaked as a form of warning, the action made her forget her smart-alecky reply to the driver so she decided not be difficult and admit her inner feelings.

"Is it that obvious?" Scarlett asked while stilling Amico's movements against her body without the driver seeing.

"Pretty much "

"Great" she replied sarcastically

"Hey , cheer up"

_Did this clueless son-of-a batch of cookies just tell me to cheer up?, seriously did he just tell me to cheer up? I COULD BREAK YOU IN HALF RIGHT NOW !_

"Excuse me?" She said calmly her eyebrows bending into a soft furrow

"Cheer up , you are the newest member to the Varia squad, you act like you've been given a death sentence"

_What's the difference ?_

"I know you're trying to encourage me, thanks, but, sorry I don't know what you're trying to tell me."

Scarlett could hear the sigh that the man was trying to make inaudible. Scarlett's trained ears could pick up just about anything. She frowned slightly at the man who's ploy to encourage her was flailing.

"You should act like you're being promoted instead of sitting in the back of my car, mute and mentally struggling" She nodded in agreement. She really shouldn't be this apprehensive.

"The fact that you're in the back of my car is proof enough that you're on par with the other members of the squad. Nono. wouldn't make anyone do something he didn't think they were capable of" He was right , Nono wouldn't have put her in the squad if he thought she couldn't handle it.

"You're right" was her simple reply.

"What I'm saying is believe in yourself kid," Scarlett cringed at the word "kid".

* * *

She really hated being called that.

* * *

" You aint called Serpente di Inferno for nothing" That last part made up for calling her kid and actually cheered her up. She wasn't named Serpente di inferno just because it sounded cool. She earned her code name just like every other mafioso. She ran an undercover organization for the Vongola for s ten years until this point. If anyone was qualified to be the Varia's new cloud guardian, it sure as hell would be her. At that moment the replacement cloud guardian was brimming with confidence, which happened to be the same moment that the limo came to an abrupt halt.

"What's going on?" Scarlett queried her head snapping in every direction.

"We have reached your destination" came the rough voice of the limo driver.

Scarlett found her self presented with an open door. She grabbed her purse and crawled out of the limo in a total stupor and oblivion.

"Hey Serpente, how _did_ you earn you earn your title" The question snapped Scarlett back to her senses

"Oh, um…," she started as she began to form a response in her head not involving her telling her life story. As she did so she completely forgot about Amico. Since she and Amico have been accomplices for most of her life , she has grown accustomed to the feel of the leathery scales that is Amico's skin slithering against her body that is when he isn't squirming around. In other words the poisonous but benevolent snake had gone unnoticed and slithered his way up her torso. His little head conspicuously poked out of the collar of his owner's shirt and into the view of the unsuspecting Limo driver. As Scarlett finally formed the words in her mind she noticed before she spoke that the driver had began to shake. His knees buckled and she watched him take a slow step backward.

"What?" She asks oblivious to the fact that there was a dangerous animal invading her personal space

A moment passed with the man frozen in what looked like fear, Scarlett tilted her head to the side in question

_What the hell is going on ?_

"Sn-sn-sn-snake…" He trailed off the last part. Scarlett furrowed her brows, not understanding what had him so shaken up

"Snake…" he trailed off again. Scarlett blinked.

"!" Scarlett jumped back, not from fear of a snake but of surprised that a seemingly middle aged man could sound like a screaming school girl without someone torturing his testicles. With that the man drove off, a cloud of smoke trailed behind him. Scarlett blinked a couple of times questioning whether or not what she just witnessed actually just happened.

"Let me just pretend I didn't just see a 40, or so, year old man scream like a girl over a snake." At that moment she heard a low hiss and felt something coil around her neck. Her eyes slowly drifted to her shoulder.

"Oh, hey Amico" Comes the nonchalant drawl of his master. As a reply, the poisonous legless beast flicked out his tongue, something understood between them as a "Nothing Really". Scarlett shrugged and turned on her heel to take in the surrounding of what would be her new place of residence. Upon laying eyes on it her jaw dropped. There had to be a mistake this place that she stumbled upon could not be the Varia headquarters. Where was the big mansion that sat atop a hill, surrounded by a permanent storm cloud with the thunder and lighting with bats and crows swarming the place? Apparently not there. No. This place completely different from what she had imagined. Scarlett followed a walkway paved with cobblestone into a golden gate.

_I'm definitely in the wrong place, I should be walking through the gates of hell not the golden gates. Where's the banner saying "Abandon all hope all ye who enter here*"?_

Her eyes widened in astonishment as she looked to her side noticing the most beautiful vegetation , including patch of exotic flowers such as Orchids, the rose of Sharon, Hibiscus and Iris and also Rose bushes lining the walk way . Scarlett marveled at the beauty before her and paid attention to nothing else. A poor decision. It's a good idea to pay attention to your surroundings when in a tiny space, which makes it an even better idea to pay attention to your surroundings in something as big as the Varia headquarter's front yard. Scarlett feels Amico thrash around violently while hissing wildly in her shirt.

"What is it Amico?" At the moment she felt her foot bump against something. She turned her head so that she facing full front to whatever she hit. That "whatever" was a 100 foot metal pillar.

_No wonder Amico was thrashing around so frantically._

"You were trying to warn me weren't you" the venomous threat hissed in reply.

Scarlett shuffled her feet and walked around the pole she would have to reward Amico later , that would have made an unsightly bruise. Scaley snake skin still wiggled against her and she still hear Amico hiss.

"C'mon boy I know I almost hit the pole but there's nothing to worry about now" She patted Amico's head but that only seemed to distress him more.

"Amico wh- her sentence was cut short among feeling a hostile presence in the vicinity , no , closer. Amico bared his venomous fangs behind her, signaling her to turn around. Instinctively she reached into her jacket for her weapons she slowly turned to who or whatever she assumed to be an enemy. Before her eyes stood a tall lanky man with an appearance that made him look like he had recently been electrocuted. Behind his back were things that looked like umbrellas. He stared down at her smaller figure and she up at his titanic figure , she notice he was in Varia uniform, She eyed him for a moment then put her weapon back in safe keeping. She put her hands up and in front of her signaling she was no threat.

"Who are you" his deep drawl echoed in the clear air.

"My name is Scarlett Phobia , I'm-"

"We have no business with someone by that name" he reached behind him and drew from the sheath on his back, on of the umbrella looking weapons and began charging it with electricity.

_Those are no umbrellas, those are parabolas, uh-oh…_

'W-wait hold on a sec-

"LEVI VOLTA" _This is what I was afraid of_… a huge surge of electricity hurled itself at her form. It was an immense glowing white light surging toward her. The sound of humming electricity was an ominous reminder that this was the ruthless, cutthroat, Varia she was dealing with. Scarlett, being quick on her feet scrambled out of the way before it could hit. She caught her breath , her heart thundering behind her ribcage because of the adrenaline. Slowly she held out her hands in frount of her , to show she came in peace.

"Look I'm not an enemy- "LEVI VOLTA" A faster more massive surge of electricity launched in her direction. This time Scarlett didn't take a second to gape at it. She realizes now that this man is a threat and he will no time soon see her as an ally. Scarlett quickly stepped out of the way and jumped back to put distance between her and the man She analyzed his attack and she deducted that he could only attack from a certain range. Using this to her advantage she simply got out of range. Now this just left her to wonder how was she going to get through to him, she couldn't just give up on making him see.

"Do not attack, I'm your ally!" Scarlett shouted from a distance but , the man paid her no heed.

_This man obviously doesn't listen to reason, I'd hate to put him in the hospital the day I meet him but he's not giving me much of a choice. It would be nice if he'd just let me close enough to show him my identification …_

In her mind she pictured a light bulb turning on in her head much like you see in the cartoons.

_My identification…maybe…_

As the replacement cloud guardian got lost in the depth of her thoughts, the man surround her with the parabolas. In total there were eight of them, everyone of them hovered in the air ready for the command to kill. It was the sound of that malevolent whirring electricity that got Scarlett's attention.

_Crap._

The parabolas glowed with the dangerous volts of electricity that could potentially kill the replacement before she even got the chance to meet the rest of the members. Or maybe that wasn't so bad. No. She cant be selfish ,she was doing this for Nono after all.

The whirring got louder as it charged up. All of the electricity was being concentrated into a single fatal blow, Scarlett felt ill that she would be on the receiving end of this attack. _Would_ be at the receiving end of the attack. She hissed lowly to give Amico a signal. The serpent slithered it's way up her shoulder and perched atop of it ready for further instruction.

"SUPER LEVI VOLTA!" That moment she hissed , a sharp direct hiss, know between her and Amico as a defensive command. The mammoth concentration of energy accelerated toward her with increasing velocity.

"Amico!" Scarlett commanded. The snake opened its mouth. His head exaggerated greatly in size, the size of his mouth increased ten fold as he opened his lower jaw. The surging ball of electrons , came trudging down on Scarlett's figure but all the effects it would have had were all null and void with the counter she had used. Amico had devoured the super levi volta all in one gulp. Scarlett saw the man across the field give her a deadpanned stare with his mouth agape. Suddenly Amico began to squirm violently on her body. Just what was wrong now. Scarlett looked over to Amico who was still perched on her shoulder.

"Was is it boy?" Amico began to shake violently. ._Not good._ Being a fourteen inch serpent, he was able to wrap his tail around Scarlett's arm, he began to constrict. _Worse_. Finally he just becomes absolutely still ._WTF._ Scarlett cocked her head to the side to get a better look at him. She notice that he had a faint blush around his cheeks, he looked almost drunken. Scarlett facial expression showed how confused she was at the moment. She cocked her head to the side. Was Amico alright?

_A-Amico?. _Scarlett blinked a couple of times. She then looked over to her opponent he just recovered from shock and was now preparing to assault her. She saw him charge his parabola. _There is no way in bloody hell this is going to end well._ Amico got her attention by a small hiccup. _Is Amico… drunk?_

"LEVI..."Scarlett reached into her jacket, anticipating what came next. She was prepared to show him who she _really _was. At that moment her opponent lunged toward her. He was approaching her at a rapid pace. He really did have the intent to kill her. She could tell by his hostile intent. She still dug around in her jacket still not finding her weapon of choice. He was getting close. _C'mon C'mon where are you when I need you. _Amico squirmed around a little bit more.

This time his eyes seemed to dilate and his cheeks began to puff out. She directs her gaze to the serpent giving him a low hiss. This was a command along the lines of a "Not now Amico", but Amico was not about to be ignored. Amico always squirmed around as a warning and Scarlett was well aware of that fact, but since she was busy she could handle that later. It would always be the best choice to heed Amico's advice. Amico hiccupped one more time, this time a cloud of smoke followed suit. .It was as if he upchucked a foggy morning. _I was not prepared for that. _As if sensing her thought pattern Amico hissed at her. That was probably meant as "I _was _warning you". Scarlett thought to herself; How blazes could Amico be drunk and hiccup smoke. Usually when Amico absorbed energy, he digested it. Could it be that the guy holds so much power he makes special animals like Amico drunk off their power._ That would make sense , this guy is apart of the Varia._ Scarlett waste no more time seeing as Amico gave her the perfect opening. _Since Amico clouded up the area he's probably going to jump out of the cloud so he wont be sorounded_ She found what she was looking for in her jacket and as she anticipated , she did jump out of the cloud of smoke. _Now to make my move._ Amico began squirming again, this time maybe from anticipation, Scarlett could barely tell since he wasn't violently thrashing about like he was earlier. Scarlett sprinted off her heels. She sensed his presence in the opposite direction. She darted stealthy through the smoke cloud relying only on her senses to lead her to her opponent. After getting a firm lock on his hostile presence she pulls the item that would end the fight from her jacket. She swooped under and saw her opponent who looked appalled by how quickly he had been found. This was taken as the moment to strike. _Now! _Scarlett lunged forward extending her left arm , item in hand. She could hear the air whistle from the air splitting blow … that would have collided with her opponent's face had her hand not have been caught by the wrist. Scarlett's heart stopped as she lifted her head to lock eyes with the expert fast enough to stop her blow that would have hit.

"Hmm let's see… Scarlett Phobia age : nineteen , date of birth : March seventh ,hm hm hmm hmmm, yada yada Serpente di Inferno oh!..."

The cloud replacement locked eyes with a pair of pink shades and she almost went blind with the sunlight reflecting off of highlighter green hair.

How did she not notice this guy come into the picture. It all happened so fast…Well Amico did squirm.

"Levi Dear, you were ordered to look out for our replacement , not to ruff him up," The blinding green hairerd turned around and greeted her with a nice, sweet , loving, pedophilic ,gradually getting creepier , oh god help me the bishops in the room kind of smile "Or should I say rough up" He releases her from his firm grip and leans in close to her. Natural instinct told the new recruit to back away slowly from the newfound predator.

"My, my I heard a rumor that the ninth was sending a girl to take Mosca's place, but never thought the ninth to be a man so harsh as to put a delicate young lady up to the task of being _our _cloud guardian"

_What is that supposed to mean?_

" I assure you that Nono would not give me a task he didn't think I could to handle , I am neither fragile or delicate for that matter, evidently there is something that Nono believes that I have that could be an asset to this team."

"Oh~, you think so?" He asked in a sing song voice. This guy ran a chill up her spine. Parents hide your kids. She nodded in reply.

"I can believe that , had you been a normal woman , hell normal person at all, Levi dearest would have killed you with no difficulty whatsoever" he said to avoid sounding sexist. Is it possible for someone so flamboyantly gay to be sexist?

"I observed you from a distance, and it seems you're pretty good on your feet-um…-

"Scarle-

"Pho-Chan"

"Pho-Chan?" Scarlett parroted as if learning a new word.

"Well, calling you 'Scarlett' makes me feel like I'm talking to a middle aged woman , when I call you Pho-chan I feel like I'm talking to a child" That word again … It made her shut her eyes firmly and shudder. She detested being called a child. Her face showed her displeasure.

"Ooh, you do not like being called a kid? I don't mean anything by it ,but you do have a young face" Scarlett indignantly wrinkled her nose and flared her nostrils. _Young doesn't always constitute child_. She really did hate being called a child and it irked her to no end when she was named as such , but she didn't want to come off as some quick tempered person that angers because of stupid things, so she played it off

"It's not that, though I'd rather not be called a child I can deal with it."

"Oh? then why are you showing an angry but equally cute face?" The neon colored homosexual asked cocking his head to the side in question. She groaned lowly as her face flushed slightly. "I have my insecurities" she says in a quiet voice.

"AWWWW, that's so damn adorable!" The zesty* flavored neon colored man grabbed her in a vice grip that he probably considered a hug. _Honestly…let go of me El Mira*_. Pho-chan could feel the breath leave her lungs, her eyes rolling in her head, and her face taking on a blue hue.

"Honestly Lussuria , at least introduce yourself before she experiences death by hug" With that he let her go, and gave her an apologetic look.

"You are so right I am so rude! Not that you're to far off Levi , you attacked her without letting her introduce herself…"

'Hey! I didn't recognize her actual name I wanted her codename , it's not my fault her government name sounds like a codename"

"Well which one did you ask her for -

"Hello My name is Scarlett Phobia, I'm nineteen years old. I am a mix between Italian and Creole and I'm a Pisces , what about you?" she interrupted to stop those two bickering like siblings A mechanism she uses when put into an uncomfortable situation is to turn the conversation into something less awkward but usually its something totally random

Like a mother hen the flamer 'awwed 'and circled her capturing her in her arms " I'm Lussuria, but please feel free to call me Mama, I'm the team's sun guardian, _that over there _, the man you had a little skirmish with, is Levi , don't worry you'll get used to him." His grip traveled south to her hand. He yanked her forward

"Come on Pho-chan you have to meet the rest of our little group" He says so lovingly.

"Sure" She replied simply. Even though she actually had a lot to say such as

_I don't think I'm ready for this. Meeting two of them got me all sweaty and messy, I really hope my hair didn't get frizzy from the sweat. I cant meet the rest of these nut jobs, and I SWEAR Lussuria is going to snap my wrist from this vice grip he has on it… this is going to be a long long day ._

Scarlett sat at a circle table in the middle of a very homey looking kitchen. The kitchen was a bright yellow, with black appliances, the cabinets were a chestnut color . with marble tops. Scarlett marveled in complete stupor. She really did not expect the Varia HQ to be so… so… so… welcoming. Pictures of the residents adorned the walls of this kitchen , and the rest of the down stairs portion that she had seen. It was really as if the Varia were a family and Lussuria was the mommy.

"So Pho-chan, I know you didn't quite get a particularly warm welcome to the squad so I'd like to make you something, a snack, and I'll let you choose what we're having"

_How old am I ? five? Is he doing this to be funny_

"Choose snack ? you guys have a snack time ?"

"Everyday 3:00" Scarlett looked over to the clock and it read 2:57. Her eyes widend _Oh help me god , he's serious, Could I possibly be in the right head quarters. Because it really seems as if I stepped back into kindergarten. _

"Well Pho-chan what would you like?" asked Lussuria getting the nearest flower printed apron and setting up the kitchen utensils. _I have a sudden craving for sweets_

"Um Tea and Cookies would be nice" She said matter of factly, with that, she immediately heard clanging cups and a tea kettle set to boil. _He works fast._

"_Ooh~_ A tea party sounds beautiful, I'll invite the other squad members, I'm sure they are somewhere close…" Lussuria continued on and on

"What kind of cookie, sweet heart?"

"Um… Chocolate chip"

"Tea?"

"What do you have?"

"What don't we have is the better question" Scarlett looked embarrassed that she really couldn't make up her mind. Besides she somehow felt under pressure with how fast Lussuria was firing the questions at her.

"May I recommend the Raspberry Zinger, it's quite delightful"

"Sure" _If Lussuria wasn't a cold blooded killer , he would be the world's best waiter_

Scarlett watched in awe as Lussuria moved quickly about the kitchen. The clanking of the dishes were like the music of kitchen. Even with making both tea and cookie he still managed to keep a conversation with Scarlett. At first Scarlett thought him to be a total creeper but he really isn't all that bad.

"So Pho-chan you were boss of the V.U.A, what's it like working undercover" Scarlett thought for a moment

"It's just like a regular mission , just while playing dress up" as she says this the tea pot begins to whistle

"Ooh~ I like playing dress up " says the Lussuria as he pours the hot water into seven tea cups all of them but one were white with a name written uniquely on each cup. One read "Levi" another "Bel" one written in sharpie "Squalo', one labled "Mommy" and one labeled "Boss". She took a closer look and saw one had "Little bity cuteness" x'd over in red and written over it was Mammon ._This is beyond unexpected_

"Excuse me for a moment" Lussuria walked down to the end of a long narrow hallway, where he met a stairwell. He perched him self on the fist step and called up to the other residents.

"Boys! Snack time, look your best because we have company!" He called through a melodic sing song voice. _This guy takes Mr. Mom way beyond context_. A moment passed by ,and Scarlett's trained ears heard a very light shuffle of feet. Who ever was coming at the moment he was not trying to be detected.

"Someone's coming" Scarlett said to her self. Lussuria who picked up what she said to her self looked at her inquisitively. He was about to question her reasoning when suddenly the steps got louder. He had to be running now. But then …

"VOIIII" The house rumbled with the scream's reverberation. Who ever was coming sounded pissed

"Ushishishi" Came a rodent-like laugh, it was his steps that Scarlett heard initially. There were various crashing noises that followed them. "Ushishi, missed again dimwitted strategy captain!"

"VOOII BELLLLLLLLLL!"

"Let go of me "She heard the soft drone of what seemed to be a child up there.

"Hell no!"

"Bel Dearest! Squ-chan ! don't destroy the upstairs!" Lussuria called again. The two people darted down the stairwell. One blond haired boy looking to be somewhere around Scarlett's age scurried and skidded in his socks as he rounded the corner of the stair case. The tiara –_or is it a crown_- bounced on his head as he torpedoed down the long narrow hall, with what looked like a baby in tow. Not far behind him was a man looking to be a few years Scarlett's senior , like a silver bullet he zipped through the hall behind the boy swiftly gabbing the boy by the shoulder before he could make it to Lussuria's waiting food. The force of the strong jerk sent the baby in the boy's hands flying. Scarlett stood abruptly from the table so that if she had to she would catch the flying baby. Her attempt was in vain thought because the baby just merely … bounced of the wall…and… levitated? _A levitating baby? Could he be one of the Arcobaleno children?_

"You boys should play nicer with each other" Lussuria sighed as the two others wallowed around in a wadded ball of violence. Scarlett still looked in awe at all that was going on. _Seriously, these guys are the classic dysfunctional family from the sit-coms, they have the loving mother, adorable baby, and feuding siblings, all they're missing is the approval seeking attention whore and the il-tempered bastard father that is liked for all the reasons they are hated. _Little did she know…

"Voi! Lussuria why the hell are we having a tea party, do we look like a bunch of girls?" The silky silver haired man said, his voice sounding grumpy as his eyes gazed over the hot tea on cookies that adorned the kitchen table. Then from the corner of his eye he spotted the replacement sitting cross-legged in a chestnut wooden chair.

"And who the hell is this? Didn't boss tell you not to bring home people you met at the mall?" Scarlett narrowed her eyes at the man ._Just what is that supposed to mean?_

"Excuse me?" Scarlett asked politely. Different from what she was thinking.

"Squ*! How could you be so rude ! I definitely did not meet her at the mall!"

"Mall , beauty salon, grocery store all apply , you're not allowed to have visitors"

"But-

"Well then … I guess that would be unfortunate…if I was a visitor," Scarlett said with a smirk. _So this guy thinks I'm one of Lusuria's girl friends, well not girlfriend you know because he's the homo-big bird from sesame street , but you know … Anyway now I feel halfway obligated to bash this guys head in because I can already tell he's being a chauvinist jerk face. The only reason he's questioning about me is the fact I'm a girl… woman._

"What is she talking about , Lussuria get her the hell out of here before she see's something she shouldn't"

"But Squ-" Lussuria began

"See what? A flying baby being hurled into a wall, An electric giant ,A silver haired man chasing a young man with a tiara? A mother-like homosexual ? Oh no, I'll alert the authorities" Pho-chan said sarcastically. The man growled at her then slits his eyes indignantly "I'm no visitor here, I'm Scarlett Phobia, Serpente di inferno- the serpent from hell , your new cloud guardian, it's a pleasure" She said holding out a hand. He looked at her hand and scoffed. He gave her a mean stare . The tension in the room escalated.

"Replacement cloud guardian, eh? Trash" _What did he bloody call me _Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him. They both glared at each other. His glare was intense as if she locked eyes with a great white shark. Her glare held the same intensity, looking into her angry eyes would be like a stare down with a poisonous serpent. _Calm down Scarlett , you're no longer the boss of anything , you need to remember you are now an underling, just find an excuse to not be angry at him… I must touch his hair.. ,it's so darn beautiful .- that's reasoning enough to disregard his actions this time_

"Squ! Stop being rude to Pho-chan and introduce yourself to her" Lussuria fussed feeling that he had been ignored. He had been so it was understandable he'd be irritated. Squalo scoffed looking down on Scarlett.

"I'm your Strategy Captain, Superbi Squalo," _Someone has a big ego_

"Listen girl –

"Ushishi The prince feels left out, quit yer yapping dimwitted strat-cap, It's my turn."  
"VOI! You trash I was about to-

"I'm Belphegor, the declared genius of the Vongola family, the prince is always eager to meet new peasants, Pho-chan was it?" _Does everyone in this family have a habit of saying things to piss me off_ ._The hell it is nice to meet you._

"Nice to meet you, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance" She said with fake smile and clenched teeth. Another thing that peeved her, was being talked down to , it didn't help that she was being talked down to by a kid. Dammit she was no push over but, she respected her boundaries, she is new and no longer the boss of anyone she will just grin and bare it.

"Not talking back to the prince? The prince likes you already, here I will allow you to shake my hand" _Really, I'm beginning to hate you already._ A vein pulsed on her forehead as she smiles and forcefully grabs his hand and shakes his hand with more firmness than necessary. Belphegor winced and quickly withdraws his hand.

"Well damn, you really are a snake, your hand shake is like being squeezed by a boa constrictor" As if on queue Amico makes his appearance with the mention of poisonous serpents. He must have been responding to Scarlett's ticked off mood. The residents in the kitchen backed away slowly. Scarlett's attension was given to the tamed serpent coiled around her arm. He hissed audibly, maybe so everyone could hear him say hello. Scarlett smiled and kissed the-" would be menace" on his little head then patted the very spot.

"Hello friend, did you wanna introduce your self too?" His tongue flicked out in response. The other residents looked almost terrified but Scarlett calmed them."Don't worry boys he's harmless, that is unless I become cross" -_Now who's a peasant ? who's trash? I dare you to say it again_

"This is my partner, friend, and weapon of choice, Amico, the black mamba" Everyone in the room made it a point to be as far away from her as possible. She smirked wryly.

"Come on guys he's harmless"

"Don't give me that load of crock, The black mamba is the most dangerous of all snakes, growing to be a good fourteen feet long, sharp venomous fangs, fast slithering speeds, that thing is deadly and you're not convincing me otherwise." Belphegor* kept his distance still not trusting the cloud replacements words. _Come on guys he would have already bitten you if I wanted him to._ She sighed irritably.

"Alright, I know at least one of you in here has the _makings of a man, _just one of you come here pet his head."

"No one insults my manhood!" Squalo growled

"Do I have a taker?" She extends her arm out toward Squalo and let Amico use her arm as a bridge to Squalo from his beloved master Scarlett. The silver haired man steped backward, only a pace away from Amico's reach.

"What's the matter Strategy Captain? Surely you aren't afraid of a tamed snake are you ?" Scarlett taunted with a sneer.

"I am not afraid of anything! I'm just not stupid -[ _could have fooled me _]-everyone knows when someone in the mafia has an animal companion , it isn't just a regular animal, it has to be lethal . you say that menace is tamed but that only means it wont attack you, it's a different story for the rest of us" Scarlett nods. Squalo is right , he would not attack her on any circumstance but if she were angry enough the rest of them could be dead men in less than five seconds. The thing was though she has to give the order to kill, but it's understandable that they would not trust her, after all she did only just get there. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing they didn't trust her with a lethal weapon right now, they wouldn't walk all over her then and they would think twice or maybe even three times before talking down to her again. Maybe fear isn't so bad._ Okay Scarlett don't go that far. No fear. Not now. That's not how you operate._

The replacement sighed and hissed lowly, instructing her partner to slither back up to her shoulder. Amico's mood changed from contented to meet new people to somber that everyone was scared of him even though he is capable of being gentle. Scarlett felt sorry for the poor reptile and was about to comfort him when, a small hand touched Amico's head. Both the snake and the master looked astonished seeing the small hand pet the head of the reptile in such a friendly manner. Scarlett's eyes followed the small hand up to the wrist , to the elbow , to joint of the shoulder up to the neck and pudgy face of the levitating infant. Smiled sweetly at the young boy. It truly was a shame that in a room full of men and adolescents' the one person brave enough to get close to the slithering sweetheart was the baby looking no older than three years old. _Even though I can almost guarantee that he isn't as young as he seems seeing as he could be an arcobelano child. _Amico hissed and nudged his hand against the boy's hand in appreciation. The baby turned his head to gaze behind him at the three men behind him looking in awe that he touched such a dangerous creature. "Bunch of babies" The comment caused Squalo to furrow his eyebrows and scoff, the prince frowns and grabs the baby by the cheek saying

"I am no baby , you faceless runt"

Lussuria just smiles and decides to pet Amico's head .He marvels at how smooth his skin is and how cute the snake seems to him now.

"What a beautiful creature he is" the mother man said in awe.

"See he is harmless"

"He sure is I mean I think I'm in love with him" cooed Lussuria as Amico was growing more acquainted with his touch

"Hey Lussuria back off a bit , love him anymore and you might turn him into a belt" Belphegor teased. Lussuria scowled at Belphegor, a silent request for him to shut up.

Scarlett held out her hand welcoming Belphegor to come to Amico. Belphegor shook his head furiously. She shoots him a daring smirk and expects him to retort with touching the scaley head of her partner. Why was it so important for the members to touch him? It was considered a sign that Amico acknowledged you if he is touched , and anyone who doesn't trigger Amico's heightened sense of good conscience is good ally material. So how would he react to Belphegor?

"Let me guess, his royal highness is too high class to have animal's skin to be in contact with his royal hand" Scarlett inquires sarcastically.

"You know the prince so well to have met him only minutes ago" Came Belphegor's snarky reply. Scarlett rolls her eyes._ Your loss, excuse my French but I'm not going to kiss the royal ass._ Scarlett's vision panned out to Squalo who had made his way to sit at the other side of the table , cup labeled "Squalo" in hand and a empty plate in front of him. She looked at him beckoning him to touch the serpent. As if sensing the intent of her eyes, without looking at her he responds with an aggravated sigh.

"I'm not getting near that worm with scales" he scoffed before taking too big of a sip of the still piping hot tea. He jerks forward and dropped his cup on the table , making it spill all over the clean tablecloth , that was luckily navy or that red tea would have left a noticeable stain. The silver haired man clutched his throat with his tongue stuck out with hopes that the cold air outside his 98.6 degree body would give him relief to his scorched tongue. It took all of Scarlett's strength not to laugh at the man gasping saying 'hot'hot'hot' over and over again._ Thanks Karma , you're the best._

"Oh my tablecloth! It didn't stain did it?" said the frantic neon colored man mother.

"Burn shishishi" the sadistic prince laughed at the silver haired man's pain

_Lussuria, Strategy captain* just scorched himself and you're worried about the tablecloth_

"Voi !Dammit Lussuria you didn't say the tea was still piping hot!" She could barely understand the strategy captain talking with his tongue still hanging from his mouth

"Well duh Squalo ! it's tea dammit I wont serve it to you cold or lukewarm!"

"Well no shit! I'm saying you should warn me if it's fresh out the kettle"

"WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENSION TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING INSTEAD OF FLIRTING WITH PHO-CHAN" Had Scarlett been drinking tea at the moment she would have done one of those spit shots you see in the cartoon comedies instead her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Squalo furrowed his brows and went crazy at the comment

"THE HELL I WAS FLIRTING WITH HER, YOU'RE A DEAD MAN IF YOU EVEN IMPLY SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

"OH YEAH? YOU WERENT LOOKING HER IN THE EYE AND TALKING TO HER UNDER YOUR BREATH , IF THAT DOESN'T IMPLY AFFECTION WHAT DOES?"

"OTHER STUFF YOU DAMN NOSEY WANNA BE MOM!"

"WANNA BE MOM? I AM THE BEST DAMN MOM YOU EVER HAD-

"OTHER THAN THE ONE I WAS BORN WITH"

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT ONE!"

"THAT'S MY POINT!"

* * *

The argument went on.

* * *

"WHY I NEVER!"

* * *

And on.

* * *

"VOI "

* * *

And on.

* * *

"I OUTRANK YOU"

"OUTRANK MY ASS"

* * *

And … on.

* * *

"Pho" Scarlet had zoned out from ignoring the argument. It was the deep baritone belonging to Levi that drew her attention.

"This way" the electric giant droned. The replacement followed behind the massive man down the long narrow hallway that she had seen the other group members emerge from. She rounded corner behind Levi and there was a staircase. Levi began climbing the stairs. Scarlett froze for a moment. She eyed the height of the spiral stairs. Though they looked very stylish they were so high up. Scarlett felt a small bead of sweat trickle down from her temple to her chin.

"Are you coming ?" asked Levi from the head of the staircase. She nodded and took a deep breath as he tightly gripped the rail of the stairs and climbed upward. Her movements were quick so she wouldn't have to endure the height for much longer than she had to. Once at the top she followed Levi down another hallway. This hallway was painted red, a brick color red and the base boards were white contrasting the dark red color. She passed several rooms while following Levi; she glanced at each of them as she walked by them. The first she walked by was dark blue inside with a cot for a bed and with lots of training dummies, the next was painted dark purple , almost indigo with black furniture and was that… a crib? After that room there was a room with the door closed with a sigh with big red print saying "DEATH PIT" the replacement could only cock an eyebrow. The last room was painted green with several framed pictures and what seemed to be a shrine in the middle of the floor, nothing else was there, there was no bed , no dresser or anything just pictures and a shrine. _It isn't my place to judge people's living spaces but that isn't what you see in the normal bedroom_.

Levi made a sharp left in what seemed to be the intersection of two hallways. She already had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to navigate around the mansion either without a guide or a map because there seemed to be so many different halls once she had gotten passed those rooms. On this hallway was one more room. It was all neon colors, it looked like a miniature Vegas to Scarlett. In there was posters of Leonardo Dicaprio , Taylor Lautner, Adam Lambert, and other internationally known drop dead gorgeous men adorning the walls._ No question, that room is Lussuria's… I know who I'll be visiting in his room ._ Scarlett joked with herself, she wasn't nearly that boy crazy, not that she couldn't acknowledge a handsome face when she saw one but men aren't the one thing that dominates her thoughts like most young women her age. It could be the fact that she was bought up running an undercover squad and every guy in there was either creepy, crazy, a jerk face or married. She sighed as her walk with Levi was growing boring , and the fact she was beginning to think of men…_why?_ She wondered. _Men aren't so special aside from how charming some look and act, being in the V.U.A. I have encountered many men from my age to Nono's age while undercover. Most of the men were all sex craving testosterone filled sacks of flesh. Sometimes the sacks of testosterone were nicely tonde with chiseled features like Adonis. Others were the exact opposite but with them as a whole there is a reoccurring theme – The man's man that has his eye on the unrivaled beauty which was always coincidentally me and must pursue her and woo her by __**any**__ means necessary-_ She sighed. She was doing it again. _Not all men are that way Scarlett you met these men undercover, you meet the same type of man because most men that are criminals have the same mentality. I don't even need to worry about this type of thing anyway. I'm nineteen with my whole life ahead of me, when I turn twenty-seven I'll retire and find a man ,we'll get married and have some kids and I'll live happily ever after… yeah right_. This was why she hated thinking of men because she was a deep thinker. Her she found herself thinking just what bloody got her thinking about men.

"Lussuria's posters…" She trailed off out loud by accident

"What?" asked the colossal man coming to a halt looking over his shoulder down at the replacement.

"Um nothing…"Scarlett trailed off, feeling stupid that she thought out loud_. I need to_ _keep men out of my mind for now. _Levi stood there unmoving for a moment, piquing Scarlett's concern.

"Levi?"

"Shh , this way" he says in a hushed voice as he opened the door before the both of them. Where did the door lead? To another flight of stairs. _Maybe the HQ was built like an HQ, if the enemy attacks then they could just play one big game of hide and seek and lose them all._ These stairs weren't as long or high as the ones they climbed initially to get the upstairs. These stairs seemed more like they were leading up to an attic a very room-like attic. Levi makes another abrupt halt in front of the door at the top of the stairs.

"Wait here" Levi slips into the room and all there is, is silence . Silence is not good for her because silence makes her think. _What's behind the door. This is an assassination squad so it could be anything or anyone._ Suddenly the scent of liqueur wafted into her nostrils. That confused her. _I know Levi didn't walk me up here with him just so he could pour himself a drink, there is someone else behind that door, could it be the feared and revered, infamous boss._ At that moment she picked up the sound of Levi and another talking but it was vague, the room must have been intended to be sound proof.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~Levi~~~~~order~~~~~~~strength"

"~~~~I did my best only for your approval~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~my life~~~~~~strong but unexpected"

She could hear more of what Levi said because the giant talked a lot louder than the other. _I can assume the person in his company would be boss, why hasn't Levi let me in yet?_ She wondered As if on queue Levi opened the door by a sliver then slipped out of the room obviously not wanting Scarlett to see something. The permanent substitute furrowed her eyebrows and followed as Levi began a stride in the direction from once they came. Scarlett glanced behind her seeing as Levi had not shut the door all the way. She was less than shocked to see that it was the boss behind the door. Even though it was only open by a sliver she could see tanned skin sprawled about a leather couch with a bottle of tequila in a big manly hand. Scarlett's eye sight was impeccable but even with her eagle eyes she couldn't see everything through a small crack . She saw only the mans torso, and wasn't that just awesome because he's nicely sculpted , that much she could see, which means that he has a nine in ten chance of being an Adonis figure. Which also means she's at risk for falling victim to her thoughts of men. _Calm down Scarlett …_She took a deep breath._ I already figured out this family , they are the dysfunctional family from the sitcoms Squalo ,Belphegor are the quarreling siblings, Lussuria is the loving mother, Levi is the attention whore, so the only role left would be the Angry father everyone likes for the reasons they hate him. He wouldn't be worthy eye candy , not that I need any... that would just be distracting._ She sighed

"Pho" Levi called to her from the lower level . _Oh no, not these stupid things again._ She just decided that moment she hated the stairs, with a burning passion for being so high up. One by one she made her way down those troublesome stairs. Levi had gotten impacient with her by the time she finally got down stairs

"You move as if you are afraid of high places" Said the giant through a derisive scowl

"Not at all , it's just that I'm wearing heels and I have to move slower so I don't fall" Scarlett laughed trying to cover up for her dumb phobia, you cant be in the number one ranked assignation squad in all the mafia world and have a fear of heights. _Well, that's not totally true, up until today I thought you couldn't be in the mafia world's top assassination squad and still have snack time but, hey I guess anything can happen._

"Funny you would say that, you seem to walking just fine now" Yes, she was able to keep up with Levi now, but what Levi doesn't know is that while wearing heels you need to be careful of the terrain when ever you walk.

"That's because I'm walking on flat floor , steps require climbing " Scarlett smiled know there is nothing he could counter her with and instead of figuring she had a fear of heights instead he'd think she just cant walk in heels.

"Lussuria has no problem"_ WHAT?_

" Lussuria can walk in heels?"

"Yep" _I am so screwed _

"Well I guess I have some learning to do" Levi probably thought that Scarlett was BS-ing him [which she was] but said nothing as he stopped at a closet type door. The door hid a downward tunnel with a light at the end of it. Levi led her into it. The tunnel was carpeted and painted like the rest of the head quarters and led down to a room. The room had the word 'basement" in bold black letters, there was a light on in the inside. Levi stepped out of the way and cleared a path for Pho-chan to get to the door.

"This is your room" came the basket ball player rival's drawl. _Great I sleep in the basement._ She gripped the golden doorknob that was abnormally big. She twisted the knob but found difficulty opening the door. _Are they so cruel to lock me out of my room on the first day That isn't surprising. _She kept twisting right, and finally came to terms with the door being locked. Scarlett furrowed her eyebrows and sighed, then turned irritated eyes onto Levi. Levi cocked an eyebrow, just what was she looking at , just go in already. As if sensing Levi's thought process she twisted again, showing she was unable to enter. She watchs as Levi's widen for a moment to show understanding, then Levi twists the knob left and the door opened.

"I forgot to mention the doorknob is funny on that one" _Great aren't I so lucky. _The newest cloud guardian entered what used to be the basement. She was astonished that the room, just like every other room in the house, was not as she thought it would appear. She expected a cellar like you would see in the fairy tale Cinderella, cold gray and just plain unwelcoming. It was an empty room , unpainted un furnished , but it was carpeted with a bathroom built in. It was a small apartment minus a kitchen and laundry room. She walks further into the room. She sees pain cans in the corner of the room, with a mattress and some wood, that she was assuming would make her a head board a dresser and a nightstand. This was so different from what she though and by that fact she is contented. There was only one thought that discerned her –_ I have to paint and build all this all by myself, this could take a while. _She turned to Levi and was about to thank him but just as their eyes made contact Levi turned to take his leave. That left her alone in new room. She turned to Amico who had since Levi left been perched on her shoulder. They both scanned the room for a moment until Scarlett took a deep breath and set Amico on the floor .

"Looks like I have some work to do" She took off the rings and bangles that adorned her arms and hands and rolled up her already short sleeves out of habit and was commencing to do work. _I should probably start with the paint, I can sleep on a mattress tonight._ With that she sifted through all the colors of the paint. There was red, green, pink , purple and blue. Scarlett always strived to be different , the rest of the house aside from the resident rooms were painted with red walls and besides it was going to be expected for her to chose red , after all her name is "Scarlet". The green was more of a evergreen hue , she liked a more emerald color green so that was no option for her. She liked dark pink more a hot pink or fuchsia other than that she found pink to be a disgusting color._Next. _Purple wasn't a bad choice so she kept it in mind. So she moves on to blue , It was a hue of azure. She adored that color. That purple was so far gone from her mind when she cracked open that can of blue paint. She noticed that behind all the pain cans there were roller brushes. She grabs one and begins working. Up and down she rolled, using her full body in the motion to cover as much wall as possible. As time progressed the job began to get tiresome. She started out moving fast, believing that she would be able to finish painting by the evening hours. That was not the case. She found herself getting tired out after what seemed like a day , which had only been fifteen minutes. _That's not cool, I'm supposed to have good stamina , this a disgrace. _Scarlett sighed looking at all she had done. Her arms were tired and she had only finished a wall and a half. Most people found that to be an accomplishment, as most rooms have only four walls and it takes maybe a day to do that, but Pho-chan , is always striving for perfection, whether it be morally or physically. She took a breath and resumed working but this time as she worked she noticed another brush moving with hers.

"Eh?" She looked to her left, to see a small hand working a brush up and down. _The infant?_ Yes the infant. She was once again dumbfounded, but she smiled nonetheless.

"Thank you so much, umm," _He didn't tell me his name _

"Mammon , I am Mammon, be grateful I am helping you free of charge, I usually detest working for free but you … are different, some fiber of my being tells me to be nice to you" came the baby's monotone drawl.

"Thank you for acknowledging that part of you, have my gratitude, Mammon" His reply was inaudible, but she could see that he was contented with what she said. She worked until she met the other side of the wall , which to her surplice was already painted.

"What?" she turned around and her eyes met four other infants, all of them Mammon. They all disappeared on sight all of them returned to the boy's form. They were… Illusions, she figured out after a moments thought. Her room was painted the task was finished in an half an hour. That was beautiful. Scarlett , who was tried crossed over to the bed in the middle of the room and plopped down and took a deep breath. Within the period of a few seconds she realizes that that bed was dissembled parts a few minutes ago.

"Mammon?" The infant came floating to her and she takes him into her arms in midair. She knew she didn't know him at all but every fiber of her being told her to hold him as a mother would as child.

"Phobia…"

" Thank you so much Mammon , I know you don't know who I am , and your more selfish nature may appeal to you in the future , just know, that I will be very grateful for you , just for this one thing you've done, and I'll do something generous for you too" The baby blushed and remained still in the replacement's embrace. While Mammon was in her arms she decided to finally question her hypothesis of the young boy being a cursed infant.

"Mammon, may I ask you some questions" queried the replacement placeing her chin on the baby's forehead.

"That depends on what you are asking"

"What bounds am I forbidden from stepping?"

"My gender, my face, and my age"_ Gender? I thought he was a boy but now that I think about it he sounds like he could be either gender, I'll just assume he's a boy. Now that he mentioned his face I want to see it , darn. And If he is an acrobelano, like I think he is I know he is at least old enough to be my grandpa._

"Alright I will avoid those topics" With that the young boy nodded for her to go on and ask.

"Mammon, are you an cursed infant?"

"Yes" he replied with no hesitation. _Like I thought_

"So you are a arcobelano child"

"Yes, there's nothing else I could be , Babies cannot fly or speak with correct grammar or even be assassins for that matter." _Point taken._ _So he is one of seven cursed children, that is amazing , that I am holding one of the strongest seven in my arms. Hee-hee I won't bring that to his attention he might get embarrassed_, Scarlett roused in her mind.

"So Mammon?"

"Phobia?"

"What made you find your way down to help me?"

'The prince was being a royal pain in the ass, and is currently searching for me I went into the closet that lead to basement for refuge and I saw you working and decided to help."

"I see" Scarlett nodded.

"So you and the prince are close?"

"Something like that, he's like an annoying brother" The replacement giggles

"Is that so"

"Yes but let's avoid talking about his highness too, he has a habit of showing up when he is mentioned" Scarlett cocked her head to the side. _What?_. A moment passed and the replacement's ears picked up on movement on the upper level. The quick pitter patter of the footsteps meant that whoever it was, was running. His steps were light but rapid, she recognized this pattern of movement to be the prince himself. Mammon was still unmoving making her believe he is not aware of the approaching royalty. Silently Pho-chan got Mammon's attention . She crept up to her her door which was located adjacent to the light switch . She hissed audibly to get the attention of the serpent who had laid idle for so long and instructed him to sit upon the bed. The two humanoid forms stood silently against the wall and Scarlett hit the lights.

"Ushishi, Mammon" called out the prince , sounding like a predator trying to lure out prey. "I checked every room in the headquarters , so I know you have to be in the basement"_ Lies , it cant be possible to check every room in this huge headquarters._ Mammon remained quiet so the prince would believe no one was around then leave him be and not aggravate him to no end. Only Pho-chan could hear the prince coming their way. As he closed in on them the replacement is trying her best to think of a way so that they go unnoticed by the approaching Belphegor.

"Ushishi, come out now and save me the trouble of looking for you, I promise to play nice" At that moment , he was sounding a lot like a sick predator, poor Mammos had to deal with this all the time. Scarlett sighed._I don't have much time._

"Bel Dear," Came the high pitched sing-song voice of Lussuria. Out of no where the mommy-like homosexual came gracefully down the steps to the basement. She could hear the clank of glass and porcelain

_A Teapot, no cup ,no both. Lussuria is bringing me the Tea I didn't drink._ "Can you hold this for me since your going to visit Pho-chan too"  
"The prince holds no-

"Thanks Bel" says Lussuria forcing the contents of what he had into the prince's unwilling hand. The Prince snorts to show his displeasure.

"I'm coming in Pho-chan" He enters the room and turns the light on. In front of him laid a half conscience Amico.

"What's the hod up?" Said the frustrated royalty . He looked beyond Lussuria's broad shoulders and froze.

"I am not getting near that thing" he says under his breath." Lussuria walks on in and pat the creatures head. He sees Mamman and Scarlett standing awkwardly against the way with wet paint. Quickly Scarlett sprang in front trying to cover up.

"Oh it's not what it looks like , Mammon and I were just playing hide and seek and the prince was it." Upon hearing the name "Mammon" Belphegor stormed the room and scooped up the little guy.

"Found ya!"He held the boy up by the under arms after a second he nearly dropped the little guy. Luckily reflex kicked in for the baby or that would be a hard fall.

"What the hell Bel, if I had gotten hurt , I'd be sending you my medical bill"

"You have paint all over you , ya little brat" Mammaon turned his back and saw a big blue spot in the back of his black cape. Scarlett snickered but realized she was up against the wall too.

"No…" she turned around saw a big stain on her shirt and all over her butt. "Not cool" she sighed.

"Someone in the room has a blue ass" Belphegor snickered. Scarlett frowned.

"Oh yeah, well someone else has a blue face" Belphegor looked at her as she flicked a brush lightly and a drop of paint hit him between the eyes.

"Had that been a bullet you would have been dead" joked Scarlett. The prince scoffed and set the tea stuff Lussuria had on the mans lap.

"Great she got a mark on my perfect princely face now I have to take a bath… later peasants."

"Wait Bel" said Lussuria as he handed Scarlett a cookie and poured her tea.

"What?" he asked exasperatedly

"We're letting Scarlett use the bath first tonight"

"What? The prince is second to no one " he protested.

"um Lussuria-

"Dear, I told you to call me Mama" he interrupted. She sighed

"Mamma,"

"Yes Pho-chan"

"I have a bathroom in here , so that wont be necessary" Lussuria laughed

"Unless you're trying to bath in your toilet bowl or in your sink it is nessesary" Scarlett checks her bathroom to see only a toilet and a sink. _If they are going to go as far as putting in a sink and a tolirt , why didn't they just go ahead and put in a bath, please don't tell me…_

"So you're saying you guys have a group bath" She was trying to hide her mild disgust.

"Not a bath, Like a manufactured hot spring" Lussuria explained. That put her at ease, so it would be like a hot spring bath in japan. She did that once. It also makes sense that she goes at a separate time , after all she is of the opposite sex of everyone. Well maybe not Lussuria , but he is genetically a man.

"How do the others feel about having to wait?"

"They'll live, I'll go tell them now though just so they don't start walking around in their towels yet"

Scarlett's skin crawled at the thought of all the guys walking around half naked. _What about boss?_ Scarlet covered her mouth at that thought even thought she was sure she didn't say anything. _Bad thoughts. Bad, bad, thoughts._

"Pho-chan, go ahead and finish your tea and cookies, the bath will be ready for you by that time, just come out of your room , up the stairs, down the hall upstairs straight until you reach a black door , you cant miss it , open the door and go down the stairs and that's the bath room" She memorized the direction and nodded as the prince , the "queen" and and adorable little grandpa left the room.

"I cant help but think that this whole bathing arrangement is going to cause problems" She thought out loud as she took a bite of the still soft chewy cookie and drank the warm tea.

The bath room , was the most beautiful thing in the world to ever be built in a head quarters. Scarlett gazed in awe at the steam filled room, with grey tiles. There was a golden Lions head that the water spouted out of. The scenery looked almost therapeutic, she wasted no time undressing. First went her polka dotted , now ruined ruffled shirt. Next her red high heels along with her pants. Just to make sure Scarlett scanned the room once more to ensure no peeping eyes. Feeling sure that no eyes were on her. She stripped herself of her bra and last, her lacy panties.

She stuck her toe into the water to test the temperature, she was sure it was hot from all the steam she saw, it was just, was it too hot? The water was fine. Hot but not hot enough to scorch her flesh. She slipped into the water and relaxed herself, her mind drifting into her happy place. Scarlett rarely found herself at peace like this. Amico slithered up beside her on the gray cobblestone-like tile. Scarlett rubbed his back and then set her towel over his head. He hissed in protest.

"No peeking Amico, you're lucky I trust you or else you'd be outside with the rest of the boys" she teased

* * *

Outside the bathroom-

* * *

"The prince is displeased he has to wait on a peasant" The spoiled brat prince tugged at his towel with impatience. He leant against the wall that was just beyond the bath room.

"You'll live Bel, I suppose you'd much rather bath with her at the same time"

"Of course not , of course the prince acknowledges the peasant has desirable assets the prince finds attractive but she is too far beneath the prince to have him for company in a bath" Lussuria and the other accompanying men, Squalo, and Levi , all turn red at what the boy just said.

"Bel? How could you say such a thing!" Lussuria exclaimed in a loud whisper so he got his astonishment across without alerting Scarlett.

"The prince knows he isn't the only one who noticed, the only one who can honestly say they hadn't would be the pervert over here " Bel droned pointing to Lussuria.

"Is this true?" The mommy substitute said in a fashion like before.

… [ this denotes an awkward silence]

"The lack of an answer only confirms your answers, and Bel calls me a pervert." Came Lussuria's lecturing tone, the other men blushed with the exception of the prince who smiled proudly. Before another awkward silence could present itself, the sound of footsteps echoed in the otherwise empty hallways , save the four men outside the bathroom. Lussuria checks around and scans the area, he was sure he had everyone there at once.

"What are all you scum doing in front of the bathroom, why aren't you in already?"

* * *

That was, save for Boss.

* * *

Lussuria felt time go in slow motion after hearing his boss' voice. He looked at the place where his boss stood the watched slowly as he headed for the door. His eyes widened as he sprinted in front of him. That wasn't a smart move.

"What are you doing scum?" his tone dripped with venom and it was taking its toll on Lussuria even as he said just one sentence to him.

"Hold on Boss, we cant enter there yet" Said Lussuria trying to stall.

"The hell I cant" the ill tempered boss man maneuvered passed Lussuria.

"What the perv is trying to say boss-

"I don't care"

"Voi! Shitty boss, listen we're saying that our replacement's in there and we cant bathe at the same time" Squalo tries to explain

"Look you deaf scum I don't care if he's shy or something we're all men !" he says just as his fingers wrap around the door handle. All the members began to panic and in unison, they nearly shrieked

"WAIT, NO ,BOSS! OUR REPLACEMENTS A-!"

* * *

The door opened.

* * *

The squad members covered their eyes[ well in Bel's case left cracks between their fingers]. It was only their boss that stood there still, with the thousand yard stare plastered upon his features as he peered through the smoke , he saw the figure of beauty facing away from him as god created her. Naked.

"… A woman" the assassination squad leader finished, his voice showed his stupor.

* * *

[A/N: so this is the first chapter of the fiction I thought of this summer but ended up publishing by Christmas, damn I'm slow at this , I'll try to update quickly since I'm on break anyways, so do you like thew story? do you like how I write my story? are the characters in character ? sometimes characters are known to slip ooc in my writing sometimes, do you think I ended in an odd place? Please review my story with answers to these questions or anyting else, flames are accepted I take them as critques, it would really help me as a writer. Thanx!]

Asterisks (*'s)

Nono is Italian for 9th that is Pho-chan's name for the 9th Vongola

Amico is Italian for friend

Black Mamba is a species of snake native to Africa, most dangerous snake known to man

Abandon all hope all ye who enter here alludes to Dante's Inferno , the banner that hangs at the gates of hell.

El Mira from Tiny Toon Adventures, the overly affectionate girl who would hug cute things until she squeezes it to it's demise

Zesty- is another term for Homosexual

Squ-squalo's nickname

Scarletts call Bel by his full name

If I missed one you or you have questions for your own I will answer them

Until next time

-TW 3's you


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR

Warning: this story is unbeta'd , I really really need one .I released this unbeta'd because I didn't want you all to forget about me and I has bee so long

* * *

Bad Influence

Chapter 02: Too young to die of embarrassment

the air is cold in the morning. Or was it just the air conditioner? What ever it was, it was cold, and stirred Scarlett in her sleep. the chill started at her feet, she subconsciously rubbed them together, letting the friction provide some form of heat transfer. that being in vain, the chill shot up her leg, through her arms all the way to her head. She shivered, and then her eyes fluttered open from her discomfort. She waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to her surroundings. She peered around to see where the source of the cold air was from , but saw no source, she then thought logically , to think of where the air might be from.

_I'm in a basement, and heat rises… so the weather outside may not be frightful, but _that_ doesn't mean my room will feel delightful._ She concluded she was cold because she was below ground; good critical thinking pays off in the long run. Scarlett stretches out like a cat, bending down and raising her rear in the air. She continued to stretch until she heard her back – pop- , she let out a relieved sigh. At that moment she hears a knock on her door.

"Pho-chan, are you awake?" that was clearly Lussuria. Scarlett smiled not moving from her position still feeling the stretch.

"Yes Mama" She called softly, her voice still not fully awake.

"Are you fully dressed?" that_'s an odd question, why wouldn't I be?_

"Yes Mama, Why?" she asked out of curiosity. She could hear Lussuria's voice stammer behind the door, as if she had made him nervous by asking such a question. that could never be the case , considering his sexual orientation.

"W-Well no reason in particular, dearest, I'd just hate to walk in on you is all" his voice had a small shake to it, it was minuscule , but she could still pick it up. that shakiness in the voice indicates a lie has been told. To avoid any awkwardness she hasn't brought anything up , but she noticed since last night the guys she met yesterday were acting weird, _weirder than what I had been used to _ during dinner , after the bathe.

* * *

If her mind wasn't still a little bit fogged from sleep, she believed it happened like this…

During her bathe, she could have sworn she heard voices beyond the door, which separated her from the rest of the house's occupants. She chose to ignore them, since she knew there was no way they'd be talking about how she looked naked, she check numerous times, for places that may allow someone ,to peek at her, and she found none. the Varia was known as a rowdy group, they were probably doing what they were known for, being rowdy. She could have sworn she heard a scolding whisper, and a panicked hushed screech. At some point she just knew she heard the door open and close, it was light but once again, no matter how soft the sound , she can pick it up. Her back was to the door but she was able to gaze from the corner of her eye, she didn't see anything, but that could have been just because of the steam. She took that opportunity, to get finished up before someone gets any ideas.

At the dinner table not too long after the bathe, she saw all the members seated at a long table in the dinning room, different from the table in the kitchen. the all sat "Madeline style*"down the long got the urge to quote " We love our bread we love our butter but most of all we love each other" seeing how they sat even though technically it was the exact opposite. She had her "First encounter*" withe the man who is her boss from this point on. As she approached the table, she felt his eyes on her face, as if he were analyzing it. Even though his eyes seemed to follow her, his face was unchanged; it remained the same blank, bored look that he wore the duration of the night. It was only his eyes that made him seem intent. Scarlett felt almost self conscience as she sat down at the table. She nervously smoothed her short blond locks out of her hazel eyes. She felt heat rising to her face, it wasn't everyday she'd get so many eyes on her. By so many eyes… she meant the two that belonged to her boss. In truth it was only Boss that looked at her directly, Squalo , Levi, Lussuria ,Belphegor, and Mammon had either down casts their eyes or just avoided looking at her. they were all embarrassed at what they could have seen. It was only boss that actually gotten that eyeful. this was all unbeknown-st to Pho-chan, of course. Lussuria being who he was felt the need to break the ice.

"Well isn't nice to have the whole family for dinner, hmm." He stood up and gestured toward Scarlett.

"Well boss , as you may have noticed , we have a new addition to the dinner table, she is our replacement –" Lussuria was cut off

" What's your name" Boss asked getting directly to the point. the man seemed so intimidating; she almost forgot he asked her a question. Not letting herself falter, she answered him in a confident voice.

"My name is Scarlett Phobia"

"What good are you to my squad" Scarlett remained confident and replied.

"As your replacement cloud guardian, I plan to lend my expertise to further make this squad's mark on the mafia world in the area of assassination, not only teat but in the area of undercover operations as well". She saw his lips upturn slightly; he must have liked her answer. He gave her an approving 'hn' and leaned back in his seat. _Does this mean he acknowledges me?_

"Welcome aboard, scum" Even though he just welcomed her, he didn't sound welcoming, and so she could tell he didn't actually mean it. _Nope I guess not_, _I honestly wasn't expecting him to , _that_ would just be too easy, he just knows I can talk the talk, he doesn't know I can walk the walk, and oh can I walk_ Scarlett mentally mused.

"So Pho-chan, how long have you been a working girl?" asked Lussuria. Bel's rodent-like laugh sounded hushed as if he were trying to stifle it. She noticed all the men excluding boss and Lussuria turn red.

"Mama, you make it sound as if you asking me how long have I been an prostitute" Scarlett furrowed her eyebrows and placed her palm to her forehead.

"S-sorry dear!" Lussuria's voice stammered his face finally lighting up withe the others save for boss. "What I meant was how long have you worked in the mafia"

"Ten years, I started when I was nine"

* * *

All eyes were on her.

* * *

"Nine years old?"

"Yeah, that's usually when people enter the mafia academy right"

"Pho-chan , that's only when you're the child of a mafia family or a prodigy"

"Well, there is no Phobia famigila so, that must make me a prodigy" She says withe a smug grin. they all seemed astonished; well you know the only exception.

"What ? you should expect no less, from someone named Varia quality" this made boss smirk then laugh.

"this scum's funny" Scarlett's eyes narrowed at the comment. She bit her tongue to refrain from telling him off. _Jerkface? Check, Derisive? Check, Looks handsome but really an asshole? check and check, Final verdict? I hate this fine young man and when I say fine , I don't mean ' Oh Em Gee he's so fricken hot ' even though he is , wait ...I think I got my point across , now shew bad thoughts shew_

"So Pho-chan , how was the bathe Shishi" this question came from Bel, his grin was big as always but this time something just seemed a little suspicious that and the fact he didn't share eye contact… well face contact, Bel never has eye contact withe people. _What does he care?_

"Lovely" she answered in a querying tone. Boss darted his eyes to Belphegor his eyes looked dangerous.

"You made sure to wash, your face, behind your ears, and around your snake tattoo, right" _What? How did he know about _that. While in thought Scarlett didn't see the men flush once more , and then boss' eyes dart to Lussuria giving him a death glare.

"Pardon me?" Her eyes narrowed

"U-uhm I mean… did you wash your face , behind your ears and did you see the big statue , oh I'm so sorry slip of the tongue , no child of mine has a tattoo hahahahahaha" _I am not naive the only people who have seen my tattoo has been my targets, because I had to seduce most of them and take off my shirt withe my back facing them, none of them have seen me shirtless or from behind , or is there something they need to tell me._ Her eyes now would have appeared reptilian to anyone who was observing her. Her eyes scanned everyone in the room , and she could not make eye contact withe anyone save for boss. He was the only one withe honest eyes, but even though his eyes were honest, they did not tell her anything; they were honest but not confessing. _Can someone give me some eye contact? the_n she looked back over to boss , staring so intently. _Except you , you can look away._

the atmosphere was tense between those of the men and Scarlett. _ there's no way , they were able to peek at me without me knowing or Amico alerting me. …_. Just as Scarlett was about to question this verbally. Lussuria gets up and looks at the time

"Well , well children looks like dinners ready!", he chimed in a sing-song voice." And on tonight's menu: Center-Cut Filet Mignon 9 oz., Italian Herbs and balsamic onions, served withe crispy red potatoes, Linguine di Mare: Lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams and spicy lobster tomato brothe, and my classic Spaghetti, Marinara Spaghetti served withe our classic blend of tomatoes, basil, oregano and olive oil." the queston died in her theroat as her stomach began to react, to the delicious gourmet meal, the question was completely forgotten when , Lussuria brought the culinary master piece into view.

* * *

_Mmm , Dinner…_

_

* * *

_

that ended her short memory, she patted her stomach withe a grin remembering how good she ate , the night before.

"PHO-CHAN!" Scarlett flinched and was unbalanced and fell off her bed. She landed right on her butt, even through she had enough cushion back there for it to be a painless fall she yelped from surprise and rubbed her butt just from habit. Lussuria cocked an eyebrow at her behavior, then just laughed in the most lady-like way he could muster. Scarlet was such a clown theough she strives for the opposite.

"W-what is it Mama, why'd you yell I'm right here…" She got up still grabbing her butt.

"I'd been calling you, dear, you seemed dazed" _Oh yeah , my little flashback._

"Sorry , I was a little dazed" She apologized , the hand on her butt traveled to her head to rub there. She noticed withe Lussuria , he had a bag. He walked toward her withe it. She was curious to find out what were the contents of the bag.

"Hey Mama, whatcha got there?" Scarlet asks

"this dear, is your uniform , well at least for now it is , until I can take your measurements" Lussuria handed the girl the Uniform and let her try it on . Everything fit tight, not unbearably tight but tight.

"Hmm you can fit them but, it's tight, that because our uniforms initially aren't meant to cater to a female figure" Scarlett nodded, she usually wore pants this tight so it wasn't like it was uncomfortable.

"It seems you and Bel are relatively the same size"

"What" She couldn't have stopped that out burst..

"We recently just got our uniforms refitted, this uniform used to be Bel's" Lussuria stated matter-of-factly. _So I get the prince's hand-me-downs._

Scarlett removed the jacket , then the pants from her figure. It was funny that it seems like her butt and thighs could breathe after that. the_ uniform wasn't even _that_ tight. _that just left her in her night clothes. Lussuria looked at her , not noticing her dress.

"Pho-chan…" he started off.

"Yes mama?"

"Are you seeking uhm…? "Male attention?" Scarlett furrowed her eyebrows. _What?_

"Pardon" she said looking at him questioningly.

"I know that you only intend to sleep in that but, it looks like you may desire "company "in your bedroom" Scarlett flushed all shades of red from Ruby to Scarlet, when Lussuria stated that so plainly._ it's not _that_ bad.. I mean sure it's a little black and a little lacy and a little see through, but I wear tank top and panties under it._ She felt the need to cover up , withe realization that she does look awfully sexy , not good when you live in a house full of men.

"Oh my… and I have to take your measurements over in the living room…, the boys are probably up by now …" Lussuria grabs a blanket off of Scarlett's bed and wrapped it around her

"Ok dear, you're going to have to walk around in that until I take your measurements." Scarlett tied the blanket around her shoulders much like how a toddler would tie a towel around their shoulders and pretend to be a super hero. She tucked the sides in front of her and proceeded to walk onward. Scarlett knew her way to the living room now , since it was so close to her room. She had to make a left out of her room , go straight down the hall the stairs were on her left, go up the stairs make a right and head straight down the hall , then the living room was on the right. Lussuria was right the boys were already up…. _Ugh…_Belphegor was the first person to take notice.

"Ushishi , good morning _Pho-chan_" Scarlett didn't like way he put emphasis on her name. She shivered.

"Why must you say my name like that" Even through she has only met the prince yesterday he was proving to be an annoyance.

"Shishi, the prince knows not of what the peasant is talking about". She was getting a annoyed and was anticipating Amico to respond, probably slithering about her torso and rearing his head on her shoulder, but there was no reaction. Scarlett felt around her torso. No Amico. Not thinking Scarlett broke out of her blanket, exposing her self to God and everybody. Lussuria gasped and tried to cover her. Scarlett could hear Bel whistle a cat call at her. She was too busy trying to find Amico to be irritated by Bel being immature.

"Pho-chan what are you doing, the men can see everything" It wasn't necessarily everything but Lussuria needed the panic to be there, to get his point across. Scarlett drowned him out. Amico was not on her body. He wasn't ever known to venture during the night unless … _Unless we're in a new place_,_ he wanted to explore._

"Amico's loose" She droned planting her face in her palm. the first to freak out was Bel, finding the highest place to stand on top of. Squalo, who had been paying no attention to anything heard "Amico's loose and his first reaction was to pull out a sword, that was after he gave her a look over what she was wearing…_Typical_. Scarlett really would never panic like this because Amico always found his way back to her, it's just this house … it was a maze. Scarlett sighed thinking of where she should start searching, but then she heard a comforting hiss. Scarlett's head snapped around withe vigor , in the direction she heard that caught the sight of Boss withe Amico coiled around his neck as he would around her neck. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. the morning light that was visible through the foyer, illuminated the body of the Adonis-like figure approaching her. His deep crimson eyes locked withe her hazel ones as his almost God-like image came to his halt. Scarlett's eyes held the interest of a small child seeing a shiny object, she waited in anticipation for the fine specimen of a man to talk, he looked as if he wanted to say something.

"Does this belong to you, scum?" that woke her up out of her fantasy. the light around him dimmed it's self and the slow motion was now regular speed, he was now the man that she didn't particularly care for once again._ Ha! take _that_ bad thoughts, I don't think he's so hot anymore do I? Ok I still do … but can I agree he's a jerk face?... Ok I can, it's cool._ Scarlett smiled then nodded as Amico slithered from his outstretched arm, to hers. Amico slithered around her arm, to her shoulder and perched himself atop there. He gave boss a friendly hiss, boss remained unresponsive.

"thank you boss" Boss still did not respond he seemed to be analyzing her…_just what could he stare at so long. _

_

* * *

_then she looked down…

* * *

She felt so naked. Well she was half naked so , she was halfway justified. She fumbled for the blanket, which she had dropped looking for Amico. She quickly tied it around herself and looked away from boss, not wanting feel weird by sharing eye contact , withe someone who was just possibly oggling her. _No, _that_ can't be it…._

"Ready for me to take your measurements now, Pho-chan?" She nodded wordlessly

"36-24-36*" Boss mumbled under his breathe. Lussuria stood Pho-chan up on a platform then retrieved a measuring tape. First Lussuria wrapped it around her bust…

"36" he recorded. Next he measured the waist

"24" he recorded. Lastly her hips

"36… and one half"

"You were off by a small tangent boss" Lussuria chimed. Belphegor could be heard snickering in the distance. She turned to go to her room. She needed some more clothes. She placed Amico on her bed and pulled out the uniform Lussuria bought to her room. She put on the button up shirt that she couldn't button all the way up, the tie and the light leather pants withe her combat … heels?_ I highly doubt these were Bel's, if so, I'm worried about him. _ Before leaving her room to join the others she wrapped two long chains around her hips, she wore it as a belt , but this was her weapon of choice, she somewhat anticipated having to use it. Maybe on Bel... or Squalo... her day would be perfect if she could use it on both of that she left her room to join the rest of the squad in the living room. Apparently boss had started a briefing of some sort while she was gone. She made sure to make the least amount of noise possible.

"the Old man* sent me a letter, we have an up coming mission, he hasn't yet told us what type fighter this caters to but he says that he needs perfection to carry this mission out for it to be a success, so today we will train against each other" _So I get to fight these guys , ooh can I fight Squalo, no no, can I fight Bel…_

"Boss, when you say train, you really want us to just fight. Is that really safe?we're a ruthless group, it is possible we could kill each other." _He has a point_

" I don't care , I actually wouldn't mind if there were less of you scum running around here, besides only the weak die" _How cutthroat… he could really care less if we were dead, I would never treat my men in such a way…_

"We will start in five minutes" He leaves the room leaving the rest of his squad to look dumb founded.

"Great, what about breakfast, damn shitty boss" Squalo grumbled after Boss was gone. Now that someone mentioned it , no one had eaten. Scarlett's stomach growled, but maybe it was better they trained before eating , they may get sick withe all the vigorous and strenuous exercise. She sighed deeply and patted Amico's withe a smile.

"Well boy, let's go show these guys what we're made of" She felt Amico squirm withe excitement as she spent the next five minutes stretching for the up coming fight.

In some uncharted territory of the house…

the training room was the length of two American football fields , Scarlett marveled at all the space. She had so much room to work in here. It was so beautiful in her mind. Something about it reminded her of a Pokémon stadium…

"Woah"

"Oh , that's right Pho-chan's never been in here"

"Shi shi she's only been here a day"

"that is true"

Everyone was silenced when Boss entered the room. She noticed that the first thing she usually noticed on her boss was always his eyes, but they looked so intent … it was intriguing. He eyed his whole team, starting withe Levi, ending withe Pho-chan. He seemed like he was deciding who he should have fight. _He's probably going to start withe who he wants gone most.

* * *

_

" Scarlett Phobia ,"

* * *

_No! _Scarlett was alert hearing her name in the form of a raspy tenor, that seemed to caress her ear. _ W-wait no , don't fall in love withe his voice, he about to send me to the chopping block ! Ain't _that_ a b-word._

"Yes boss" She answered back

" Don't go thinking because you're a woman , that we're going to fight withe you any differently , then we would fight amongst ourselves. From this point on , you are not a woman , you are the Varia squad's cloud guardian , you are to accept that" _Whew._Scarlett smirked, and a laughed , the whole row of other mafioso looking her way. they actually believed she would want some special treatment because she is a girl . _No a woman … even boss acknowledges me as a woman ._

"Funny you'd say that boss," her smile was confident , her eyes held strong ambition "... but I wouldn't have it any other way" She locked eyes withe her boss for a split second but that split second seemed to last for days. the man smirked, he released a hearty laugh of his own, then looked down to her shorter figure.

"Your words imply you're a good fighter" he smirked. " Don't disappoint , scum" . Scarlett smirked to match that of her boss.

"Can you really expect me to disappoint boss? I don't need to use words to imply I'm a good fighter, I achieved Varia quality status, what more do you need" She retorted. the red eyed beast of a man narrowed his eyes in a look of smugness .

"I'll be the judge of that" . Even though that was how he replied . Scarlett could plainly see that she piques Boss' interest. Was he going to have her fight first? or was he going to save her fight for last. Scarlett remained silent under her Boss' choosing was under the impression that she was going first. Was it really that hard of a decision the only person he hasn't seen in battle would be her. Scarlett saw the faces of her squadmates they either wore expressions of distraught emotion or irritation. Well in Bel's case that face splitting grin never left his features.

*"Flaming Scum Vs. the Scum that kisses my ass"

_Really Boss? Can you not say Lussuria versus Levi . _

Withe that Lussuria and Levi went in the middle of the room , and immediately started attacking each other. Scarlett watched in awe at how the two men were launching killing blows at each other from the start of the match. As she remembered from her first encounter withe Levi he used electricity to fight. Lussuria deflected the lightning headed his way withe a metal plate on his knee. Levi made it a point to keep Lussuria away from him. Lussuria being a short range fighter , made him his worst enemy , if he could get close to him. Levi was having a hard time cornering Lussuria and keeping him still. He needed the man in one place for him to make his strike. It seemed like their fight was getting nowhere fast. Neither one of them has been dealt any damage. It became long and drawn out in the span of ten minutes, that is until Levi finally got Lussuria in a place where he couldn't move and got him , withe his super levi volta , Lussuria couldn't defend himself fast enough. Lussuria was pretty singed but not fatally . Boss stopped the fight seeing as he believed it lasted long enough. the look on his was showed some sort of disappointment , probably because neither of them could kill each other.

"Next-

_Come on Boss pick me and Bel! You don't know how bad I wanna bash his face in , wait no Squalo I wanna bash his face in .. no Bel.. Hell let's have a two on one, I'd gladly take those two losers on ,please boss make my day ! there's only three of us anyway._

" Psycho scum vs. Stupid Shark"

"VOIII , WHO'S A STUPID SHARK?"

"Ushishishi"

_Ugh! Why Bel Vs. Squalo what about me ! "Don't Disappoint , scum" how will you be the the judge of _that_ , if you're not going to put me up against anyone! Unless... No , he wouldn't._

By the time Scarlett was taken from her thoughts , Squalo and Bel had began their match. Bel was throwing knives in random directions. It took a moment but she noticed the knives had strings attached. Bel more than likely was setting a trap. When the knives were thrown directly at Squalo he deflected them withe his sword. the man already caught on to Bel's trick and began slicing the thread in random directions. It was like seeing single strands of hair fall to the ground; almost invisible. Squalo charged at Bel . Bel threw knives in his defense, of the three he threw only one made impact. Squalo had a slash across his cheek, but he kept his charge. Racing to the boy on the other side of the room he had his sword ready to slash the boy. Bel stood in one place, waiting on the silver bullet to get to him. He pulled out three of his knives and held them as Squalo approached him. _At this rate they are going to stab each other._ Scarlett looked away, she couldn't watch . It wasn't like she as a stranger to blood or stabbing people, she done that a share of times, but it was something about watching people get hurt, that pulled at her heart strings ,even if its people she barely even knows. Blood dripped to the floor. She could hear the droplets, splatter to the floor. Did Scarlett want to turn around? She heard a shrill ominous shriek from the battlefield that didn't sound like it was from pain. No, she didn't want to turn around. the shriek turned into a laugh, an eardrum piercing laugh. For the life of her she dared not turn around and meet the person , withe the horrifying voice.

" One of you scum go calm , the royal scum down" Scarlett turned to her left to see Boss' spectating stare. He directed his attention to her direction. For a moment their eyes shared a quick glance.

"Well?" his voice was impatient. Obviously, he was meaning Scarlett. At the moment the replacement was too frightened to get near the boy, he sounded like he was possessed by a demon. Slowly, reluctant and distraught Scarlett turned on her heel and began approaching the battlefield where the maniac of a prince, was , strangling the strategy captain , and rambling about something , having to do withe spilling his royal blood. It was only Levi's will to impress his boss that saved Pho-chan from having to retrieve the psychotic royal pain in the butt. Levi removed the screaming boy from the room, to a place that was more than likely a solitary confinement room. Suddenly, a hostile presence sent a chill down Scarlett's spine. Instinctively she ducked, as a huge mass of orange colored energy hurled itself at her from behind.

"Nice reflexes , scum..."

Slowly, Scarlett turned her head , seeing her boss across the room , in a fighting stance withe guns , two of them , pointed at her. the big flare was an assault, Boss was meaning to catch her off guard. He has made his intentions clear.

* * *

"Stand and fight ,scum , I am your opponent"

* * *

Scarlett distanced herself from Xanxus, the shock carrying her feet elsewhere. How had boss been able to send such a huge assault her way without Amico's alert or her own for that matter? Had she realized what was coming her way a second later she would have been reduced to ash.

"Where are you going?" at that moment Pho-chan felt something cold and made of steel press against her back. She shifted her eyesight behind her only to meet the menacing red eyes and wide toothy smirk of her boss. It was mind blowing how Boss' movements went unnoticed by Scarlett and by her legless friend. She knew better than to stay put withe a gun to her back but Xanxus seemed to be able to predict her movements . Just as she began to advance in the opposite direction, he grabbed her by her arm and held her up , letting her feet dangle off the floor. Scarlett kicked and struggled in her captors grip. he held a gun to her head and smirked menacingly.

* * *

"You call yourself Varia quality? you're a joke, no Varia quality officer is this easy to catch"

* * *

His words struck a nerve inside Scarlett. He was mocking her. She wasn't going to be sore and complain that he had taken her by surprise. that's how it is in the mafia world, it is very rare that you will find an assassin that will face you head on. What her problem was is that she couldn't sense his prescience unless he was right in front of her. Just as boss was about to finish his rant and pull the trigger. Scarlett hissed lowly to command Amico. She felt the serpent slither slowly around her torso. She tried not to laugh as Amico moved about her stomach his slithering motions tickled her stomach. She hissed again telling him to slither to her arm and await orders. It was a miracle Xanxus had not taken note of the serpent as it made it's way to be visible. Once in her sleeve. Scarlett stopped kicking around. ceasing all struggle in Boss' superior grip.

* * *

"Giving up before I pull the trigger?, I expected much more from you , scum" Scarlett didn't even flinch as he pushed the cold steel harder to hr head. Her face held an emotionless element. "Looks like you were all talk from the start-"

"You're dead wrong"

* * *

Scarlett's voice was a monotone. She would rather not show her opponent how much she was seething in anger withe the words he said. How dare he call her weak, How dare he inquire she was bluffing, everyone gets caught off guard, but not everyone is giving the chance to make up for their mistakes. According to what she had already know about her boss he was being uncharacteristically chatty. He wasn't being the ruthless killer in cold blood, that she had grown to fear and secretly develop a crush on. _No no! I do not have a crush on _that_ son of a biscuit eating bulldog , I just think he's... hot- er no - attractive, yeah I only find him attractive._

Scarlett finally figured out the man was going easy on her. that's why he wasn't putting much effort into the fight and talking so much .. well mocking her so much. She gritted her teethe and ordered Amico to the offensive.

" Amico! Shallow bite!" the command entailed Amico biting Xanxus' neck and releasing only enough venom to stun him. Since Amico only bite hard enough to just break the skin to it's minimum they attack is called "Shallow bite". Xanxus drew back and let Scarlett go and grabbed the play where Amico bit.

"Shit" he grumbled audibly. the bite from any snake brings horrendous pain, that horrendous, heinous pain is only intensified to a gargantuan amount when it is a black mamba being dealt withe . Scarlett smirked distancing herself from her boss as quickly as possible. His body shook not sure what was happening to it's nerves. It hindered Boss' ability to react. Now to bring out her prized weapon. She loosed the chains she wore around her waist. those weren't there to just look pretty, those were her weapons. there were two of them. Two thin silver chains that had a snake head on each end. Taking one in each hand, she hurled the one in her left hand at Boss. the silver snake head glistened in the light as it whisked through the air at a wind cutting speed. Scarlett smirked as her little toy made it's contact withe her boss. Xanxus' body was still stunned so he was unable to evade Pho-chan's assault. Her weapon was special and the snake heads at the end of each chain were not just to look pretty. the heads were able to open like the jaws of a snake and , in the mouths were fangs forged from blade , those blades were tipped withe poison. Guess who was able to get one of those heads to "bite" boss. Pho-chan was able to land such an attack. the affects of this attack were just as fatal of Amico's "Shallow Bite" these things were the equivalent to one Amico, so the original plus the two chains gave her the equivalent of three Amicos on her side. Boss did not even flinch as she landed those two attacks. She could see his body reacting involuntarily. He lifted a rickety hand, clasping his gun and turned it sideways. Scalett walked closer to him, taunting him , she thought he wouldn't be able to concentrate enough energy for another blast from his gun, little did she know , her boss was more than capable to fight her, even withe his body shaking uncontrollably. He was just that type of man who wouldn't be defeated like that. He turned the gun sideways , he intended to make a kill shot. Faster than her eyes could blink Scarlett saw a burst of orange colored energy hurled into her line of would have been incinerated had Amico not swallowed the attack as it was so close to scorching her. Like in her fight withe Levi Amico devoured the the energy and became drunk almost. Pho didn't have time to check Amico's condition as her shaky boss raised himself and began to fight the venom. this man was inhuman. She distanced herself from Xanxus and readied her chains. Before she could strike the man he appeared Behind her and twisted her arm behind her back. How was he able to get to her so quickly when his limbs were not stable enough to fully control. Withe that she saw him retrieve a gun from his holster , he aimed it toward the ground and sent them flying upward._ Of course! He's using the guns to accelerate, if I'm going to immobilize him I need to limit his use of those guns._ She felt Boss let her go after reaching a certain altitude. What was he trying to do , kill her by impact. She acted quickly as she felt expelling one of the chains into the air, boss dodged thinking it was meant to drag him down withe her.

* * *

"What are you aiming for stupid scum , you must be out of your fucking mind if you think I'm going down withe you "

"Don't get cocky Boss, who in the seven hells said I was aiming for you"

With that Scarlett yanked a beam above Boss and herself downward...

* * *

_Where am I , what happened?

* * *

_

Beep

* * *

_I feel like I got hit by a truck, then crushed under cinder block

* * *

_

Beep

_

* * *

Is this what it feels like to be dead.

* * *

_

Beep

* * *

that_ cant be right … I can hear my heart beat

* * *

_

_**Beep

* * *

**And bloody hell , what is _that_ God awful noise

* * *

_

the eyes of the heroine fluttered open. they scanned the area , oblivious of where her body lay. She was in a room that was all white , withe no windows. Now she was beginning to wonder if she _was_ dead. that was until her eyes caught the sight of the heartbeat tracker. that was where the annoying noise came from. She looked directly in front seeing a door and behind it she heard pacing foot steps and a lecturing tone.

"How could you let this happen boss!, she just got here , she cant handle you at full strength!-

* * *

Lussuria.

* * *

"Shut your damn mouth scum, She called herself Varia quality, she needs to be able to handle anything"

* * *

Boss

* * *

"Boss I'm in your squad and I cant handle your full strength"

"I'm not even using full strength , do I need to remind you, she stunned and paralyzed me for a good 45 minutes after the fight,"

"the point is she wouldn't have had to do anything of that nature had you just taken it easy , you wanted to test her strength not kill her"

"You don't know what I want to do you damn fag, I made it clear to you and the others that I don't give a shit if one of you die , I'd prefer it actually" Scarlett could hear the snarl in his tone. Lussuria made a noise that seemed to mean protest but she could imagine him feeling as if his life was in danger if he said anything to boss.

_

* * *

I need to get up

* * *

_

"this was all her fault to begin withe , she's the one that made that beam collapse on her"

"But boss-

_

* * *

Lussuria has done nothing but defend me but...

* * *

_

"But nothing,"

_

* * *

Boss is right

* * *

_

Even though everything faded to black as she yanked down the beam, it didn't take a genius to know it was her fault , she was the one that caused her own injury and someone Varia quality would not make such a mistake.

"A Varia quality soldier does not let something like this happen,"

Scarlett rolled onto her stomach and kicked a leg of the cot she was laying on. Pho-can rose to her feet slowly and took herself of the life counter, then advanced toward the door. Her ribs ached. then she felt a sharp pain in her side. She had no broken bones but she was awfully sore and aching.

"Not without getting their ass right back up and...

* * *

"S-sc-scarlett P-phobia , reporting for duty sir.."

* * *

" And getting back to work" Boss finished his sentence while staring at Scarlett phobia. She was able to stand but she was weak and hurting. Even though this hindered her, she carried her self in attitude as if she were strong and healthy. In truth , a west wind could knock her down. Her Boss continued to stare. She always had to focus on his eyes when even they were in close proximity. those red orbs seemed to zero in on her. It was as if there was no one else in the room but them. It was then when she remembered that Lussuria was in there withe them in the room. _Why has he said nothing _. Scarlett wondered as she looked to her left and saw that Lussuria was frozen and his face bright red. It was then where Scarlett saw Amico upon Boss' shoulder hissing as if she was in grave danger. Why was there such silence? Why was no one saying anything to her? these questions all buzzed about in her head. that is until she looked down. A red lacy bra and red and black panties met her was at that moment everything had became clear. Boss was gawking and ogling her body , half naked. It was moments such as this that she wanted to be invisible. She covered herself with her arms the gesture was in vain . Everything could still be seen.

_

* * *

Everything is ok Scarlett, don't you worry , you're dead already, if not physically , then internally  


* * *

_

[ A/N

I am sorry it took so long for me to update. I feel this chapter was less comedic and it ended weirdly, Am I hard to follow, is everyone in character? Do you think my addition of bars adds to dramatic effect ? Do you have in questions comments or concerns or maybe all of the above. Please review , tell me what you think , or if you have suggestions, withe that I bid you Adieu

TW 3]

_Asterisks (*'s)_

Ludwig Belemen's_ Madeline, the_ little French orphan girl.

Unbeknown to Scarlett it isn't her first encounter withe boss

36-24-36* are said to be the perfect measurements for the female body , in the male's perspective

the Old man is Vongola Nono

I'm not so good withe fights


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- KHR isnt mine. Nor do I profit from this

Warning- This story is unbeta'd I really need one people.

* * *

Bad influence chapter 3: Stupid Cupid , quit picking on me !

_Sometimes I believe myself to be a magnet. I believe this because I seemed to attract things made of a certain material. Like magnets attract charged items, I seem to attract insanity. If I could summarize this household in one word the correct one is in fact INSANITY . If I had to describe it in two words It would be SITCOM. The type of stuff that goes on in this house is only found in sitcoms , fan fiction and romance comedies. It's been a week since I've gotten here and I feel as if my I.Q. has dropped a smidgen, My I.Q. before: 176 After: 155. That's still high though... oh well I digress. This pass week has been hectic, Boss saw my bra and panties so I try and cover myself but realize that, that does absolutely nothing , so I tried to run into the bed they had me laid on but of course I forget that I'm barely strong enough to hold my self up and a fall on my face with my ass in the air. So I spent time mostly in the infirmary , where I got to know my quote unquote "Roomates" Squalo and Bel. I feel like ni this time I've learned so much about what makes an assassination squad an assassination squad. _

_Here are the ingredients_

_1) Crazy people_

_2) Ruthless people_

_3) Crazier people_

_4) Kiss ups_

_And then add a dash of insanity and you have, the most dangerous assassination squad in the world_

_Who would have thought making one of these were was just as easy as making the power puff girls. _

_It was this week when I realized that Bel, the annoyance, was actually a prince , he didn't get that crown from Party City like I thought, not that it changes how much I see him as a child , but it was a nice fact to know that Bel was really a royal , a royal pain in the a-and to the next topic. Since I had been in a room with Squalo, I had to ask about his hair. apparently he uses Herbal Essence . I remember cracking up because he couldn't tell by the fruity smell and pretty bottle it was a woman's shampoo. I made sure to introduce him to Head and Shoulders. I'm supposed to be washing his hair later on today. Okay Okay... you're probably wondering , " Uhm Pho-chan, how exactly did you and Squalo become buddy buddy friend friend?" Let me find a breif way to tell you the story. _

_So there I was in the infirmary..._

* * *

_- _Earlier that week-

* * *

Pho-chan had buried herself beneath the covers of her hospital bed as she reflected on all that had just happened . For the second time that day She had been half naked in front of the man she found herself physically attracted to _Need I reiterate that it is only a physical attraction , I only think he's hot, other than that I think he's a jerkface . _She hid her shame under the covers.. She didn't think that living with the opposite sex would be so hard. It wasn't this hard while she lived with the men in the V.U.A. she thought about it though. Most of the men were either married or creepers and the creepers learned their lesson by her hand. Anyway she laid down under the blanket wishing she had the childlike ignorance to believe she was invisible because she was covered, but she knew good and well that wasn't the case. She had no choice but to face the outside as she peeked her head from out of the covers.

"VOII, who the hell put me in the same room with Bel!" Scarlett heard from just beside her. Her head snapped to the direction she heard the loud rambunctious shark. There was a curtain separating her from the other two. How hadn't she noticed this before , was beyond her.

"Ushishi , quiet idiot strategy captain our room has another tenant beyond the curtain" With that Squalo growled angrily and slid back the curtain. Scarlett's eyes widen and she let out a dainty scream.

"What the !" Both Squalo and Scarlett scream in unison.

"What are you doing in here ?" Squalo asks through narrowed eyes and clenched teeth.

" I got injured, why else , you stupid shark?" Scarlett noticed that The shark's hair had a red tint to it. It must have been from the earlier battle with Bel. She at that moment had an amplified desire to get hold of the man's hair and wash it . To take care of Squalo's hair was like a dream to her , even though she wasn't too fond of him.

"That's not what I meant, you're in the same infirmary as Bel and I shouldn't you be separated from us since you're a girl ?"

"We were separated by that curtain!" She reminded him. The Shark looked dumb founded as she bought that to his attention. She knew would be stuck in here for a while because after all she dd have a rather large pillar fall on her. What seemed strange though was the fact. She had no broken limbs from what she knew. Her chest just felt a little sore. Glancing over at Squalo she couldnt help but have her attention fixated on his hair. The girl loved to style and take care of hair. She was always in charge of her team's hair when she worked for the V. U. A. none of those troops had such a health head of long locks. The silver colour only served to make her more fascinated with it. It broke her heart to see it tinted red, his natural colour was way more interesting as well as beautiful beautiful .

"VOI, quit gawking at me !" The noisy shark growled.

" The prince s trying to watch day time trash tv!*" Bel complained as he turned up the television volume. Pho-chan could vaguely hear the results of a DNA test as she replied to Squalo.

"You may be loud and boisterous , but Squalo you have a really nice head of hair, you cant get irritated with me admiring it " She says in somewhat of an awe. The silver headed man looked at her through surprised steel coloured eyes. A slight pink blush veiled his face.

"You've been staring at my hair?" His cocked eyebrows reflected his confused state of mind at the moment.

"I know it sounds weird coming from me , someone you just met, but I do really admire your hair , I have a weakness for hair and since I got here I've been wondering what you do to t to make it look so soft and shiny" She says with a smile. Squalo pressed his eyebrows together. He couldn't believe he was having this type of a conversation with someone outside of Lussuria. He didn't know his hair was that fascinating , he just thought Lussuria was being homo when he would marvel at his hair.

" I just wash it everyday " Says Squalo thinking there was nothing special about what he did. Scarlett would be lying if she said she hadnt been expecting a more extravagant answer. Like washing his hair twice a day using natural fruits and berries and what not. Now that she knew what he did she needed to know how he did it . What did he use to make his hair look that way?

"What shampoo do you use ?" She asks curiously

"Herbal Essecnse, why?" At that moment it seemed like every fiber of the girl's being froze. She was shocked to say the least. _Did he just say what I think he just said..._She thought in disbelief. "Squalo... you use... women's shampoo?" She says with a hint of amusement.

"WHAT? of course not, I just use this shampoo that Lussuria … buys... for... me..." He trailed of as realization hit him like high tide. " Yes I use women's shampoo" he grumbled out as anger boiled his blood. " And I'm gonna kill Lussuria for it " He growled. This made Pho-chan giggle

" SHHH! the prince wants to know if this guy is the father" Says the rather feminine looking prince as the television host announced the man to be the father of a baby he denied on national tv. "I knew it !" says the boy getting into the trashy show. The cloud replacement rolls her eyes and the grins a little at Squalo. " I normally would tease you but.. the look on your face tells me you've been through enough, I recommend head and shoulders for you Squalo, it's salon quality shampoo at grocery store price" She says with a smile. " If you like … maybe I could get some for you and I can wash your hair once" Squalo scoffed.

" Voi, like I'd let you , what makes you think I'll let you get close to my head?"

"The fact that your hair is still tinted red from your battle with Bel and it looks like you tried yourself to wash it out but you failed and now it almost looks pink" She says with a smirk. Squalo grumbled loudly.

"Touche."

"How many times does the prince need to say it , STFU or GTFO , this is the good part" The two narrowed their eyes at Belphegor.

"The party city prince is becoming a more and more of a royal pain in the ass each second I get to know him." This comment made Squalo laugh hysterically.

"Who's a party city prince?" says the now annoyed young royalty.

"Whom else your fakeness? you dont see niether me nor the shark with a plastic tiara on our heads calling ourselves royalty. " Says the girl irritably. The prince growled and then retreved three custom done knives. _Lets just say that this little incident taught me two lessons , Though something looks fake or acts fake or just seems fake all together doesn't make it fake and then two , if you get injured and it doesnt hurt as bad as you thought; it will when you piss Bel off. _

* * *

-_And now here we are today-_

* * *

Scarlett walked back to her own room. It had been a week since she had been in the basement , that was her room. It amazed her that there was a finally a day when she would admit that she missed the place. Since she was n the infirmary she had been deprived of her snake companion and it hurt her was hoping that once she opened her door , Amico would be on her bed and his little flat snake head would perk up when he saw her much like a puppy would. She could envision the black mamba hissing excitedly as she approached hm . She saw herself kissing him on the head as he flicked out his tongue to greet her. Her longing for her comrade only intensified as she got closer to her room. She headed down the steps to the base floor and walked to her door. It was closed so she knew that no one had tampered with her room. She twisted her nob to the right and found it not opening. She tried once more then remembered she had the funny door that opens when you turn the nob left. With that She turned the nob left and anticipated a contented hiss from Amico. When she opened the door she got a sight she hadnt expected. She heard a contented hiss from Amico alright but she hadnt expected hm to have company. Amico sat around the last person she expected to sees neck and he was sitting atop her bed. She found her body reaching an unforgiving heat. _God I'm not sure if you love me or hate me , you've bestowed upon me both a blessing and a curse. _Two red irises opened and glanced up at her intently. She pinched herself behind her back, hoping the good lord would have mercy on her and let this be a dream . Apparently the good lord had other plans. If she ever had the courage she would tell him that his eyes were so interesting to look at. Those blood red eyes were both frightening and and enticing. She would regard them to be one of his best features

* * *

"Scarlett Phobia "

* * *

The other would be his low raspy voice.

"Y-yes - She clears her throat because she didn't want to sound weak in front of the man "Yes sir"She says more confident.

"How are you feeling ?" Scarlett felt her heart pound in her chest at the question. What made boss so concerned all of the sudden? The girl wondered as her face turned shades. _He cant be showing genuine concern for me … no … not boss who regards everyone to be trash._

"I'm feeling great sir" She answered professionally. As she tried her best not to look like she obviously fighting her inner feelings.

"Healthy ?" He asks cocking an eyebrow

"Yes according to Lussuria " She never breaks eye contact with the man even though she wanted so desperately to look away from such intense eyes. She approached the man believing she looked awkward standing in the doorway as such. He looked as if inspecting her. She felt as if she were being examined for something.

"Your face is red " He says bluntly .

* * *

H-he noticed ... dun dun dun !

* * *

"Are you feverish?" His eyes narrowed.

"No sir... It's just hot down here" _Ugh.. that's total bull , it's never hot in my ice box of a room._

Her boss' eyes seemed to bore into her. The eyes were the gateway to the soul and damn it if Pho-chan wasn't afraid of bosses soul. He sighs audibly … for what reason she didn't know.

"It's good to know that you are doing fine" Scarlett's eyebrows were raised up to her hair line from the surprise of what her boss just said._He does care... no he cant care .. no this is a dream_. she pinched herself repeatedly behind her back. She would not awaken ..._Cupid you are so cruel .. stop it... just stop it _.

"I was under the impression you didn't care for your men" This comment made her boss smirk. _uh-oh … Look at that condescending smirk . It looks so familiar … almost like a long lost friend. _The cloud replacement sighed having a good idea of what was going to happen.

"You think I'm concerned? No scum, I'm not nor am I sorry for using my full strength in our training last week.. I am merely checking to see if you're in the condition to go on a mission " His snide attitude and condescending attitude came back in full force. _Stupid cupid ! I knew he wasn't concerned about me , why do I always get my hopes up . I'm not a sucker , No I am not but why .. why... do I always fall for this . Let me get it through my thick skull. Boss cant have feelings for me .. I just got here... He is too smug and pompous and is he even capable of displaying affection toward another human being? .. or anything for that matter?... What did he just say ? _

"A mission?" She vaguely remembered the man saying something about a mission before they started their death matches training but she had lost sight of that while fighting for her life.

" A Sicilian crime family is allegedly plotting some sort of rebellion to remove the Vongola from power .We're in need of an undercover operation. First we have to see if the rumors are true and we they are , we kill them." Scarlett found herself being thrown back into her element

"Why didnt Nono just give the task to the V.U.A. or the CEDEF?" She asks as she raised an eyebrow.

"This is beyond their power, realise it was you that carried the V.U., the lost a lot of power since you were inducted into My Varia , so since their forces aren't enough to take on this task..And the CEDEF is busy working on other matters the task has been left to us" _Boss has been using the words : We and Us an awful lot_

"Boss who is meant by 'us'" asks the distraught replacement

"Who do you think scum?, you're the only one with experience in the area of undercover operations" He says with a smug smirk .

* * *

" Us … as in you and I , Scarlett Phobia"

* * *

_Boss' voice plays on loop in my mind. I still have a hard time believing what he said . He and I are going on a mission . We're leaving for Sicily tonight so I have just enough to me to wash Squalo's hair and get ready. According to boss we're going under cover as a Don of a sprouting crime family and his Mistress_ Scarlett began to blush at the thought of playing such a part_ we'll gather information behind their plans and if any of them remotely have something to do with harming the Vongola , Boss and I are to eliminate them._

The replacement walked the halls upstairs trying to remember whose rooms were where. This house was a maze. She wondered why there were so many rooms to accommodate only seven tenants. She took a turn down a hallway that seemed familiar , but that really wasn't saying much considering all the halls were identical. She sighed as she plopped down on the floor growing frustrated. It was at the moment she was about to try and turn back when

"VOIIIIIIIIIIIII, DAMN SHITTY BOSS" Scarlett was never so thankful for Squalo's loud voice . She followed the trail of curses around a corner and down a couple of hallways. Apparently he was on a rant. She hoped to god that it wouldn't end other wise she may just end up lost in the house. She highly doubted boss would go looking for her. He may just leave without her shoot everyone then ask questions later , the mission would just end in an homicide. It ultimately will but they needed to investigate first and knowing boss, he wouldn't do that properly. Within minutes she found herself in front of Squalo's open door . She recalled from the first day she got there , a room , that was painted blue with training equipment … it was Squalo's alright. She saw the man only a couple of years her senior in front of a mirror freaking out. _Dont tell me he just figured out he's graying _.

"Squalo" She says quietly

"DAMN SHITTY BOSS , UGHHH IT WONT STOP !"

"Squalo..."

"IT'S SHEDDING!"

"Squalo... …"

"VOIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-

-SQUALO" She interrupts as she held up the shampoo that she promised to use on his hair. That seemed to get his attention quite nicely.

"What's your issue?"She asks as she approached him and touched his hair. Instantly three strands of hair feel to the floor.

"Oh my you've got some follicle damage "She says in almost disbelief.

"That is my issue" The shark said in his inside voice for once . Scarlett shook her head as she was thoroughly disappointed.

"You're hair is unhealthy it only looks beautiful" Squalo narrows his eyes.

"My hair is plenty healthy it's damn boss and his shitty-ness" He says as he smooths a hand through his own hair.

"Does boss abuse you ?" Squalo sighs irritably and growls

"On the regular" He grumbled as he clenched his fists . Scarlett felt truly sorry for his hair. His hair ; not him. Her face showed her disappointment .

"Voi , don't give me that look , I'm no battered wife" The silver haired assistant looked as if he could catch fire

"Don't flatter yourself shark , my pity isn't for you , it's for your poor innocent hair"She says taking a brush from her hoist and slowly brushing his shark gave her a dead panned stare as if what she said just lowered his I.Q.. As the replacement proceeded to brush Amico slivered his way up to view. Of course Pho-chan really didn't notice , since he was always or at least mostly attached to her. Squalo just so happen to see him in the Mirror and then flip out.

"V-VOI , the hell ! get that thing out of my room" He says in slight panic. Scarlett really couldn't comprehend why Squalo and Bel were so afraid of Amico. Yes he was poisonous but if Scarlett had wanted them bitten they would have been bitten a while ago.

"Calm yourself Strategy captain" She says furrowing her brows

"I said get that scaled worm out of my room!" He says as he began to tremble. Amico hissed at Squalo's comment and bared his venomous fangs. Scarlett shushed the serpent and kissed his head to calm him down.

"You see this snake on my shoulder? He gets really hungry , very quickly and do you know what he feeds off of ?" She asks while crossing her arms "Your fear" The replacement smirked at the disbelieving expression the strategy captain now wore .

"I'm not afraid of anything !" He says through clenched teeth as his eyebrows upturned and his eyes narrowed

"Good , then you shouldnt ,mind if Amico is here while I take care of your hair " She says with an amused smirk .

Squalo was silent from that moment on. She took him to the kitchen and washed his hair at the sink.

"Bend over Squalo " she instructed much to the man's distaste.

"What the hell?" apparently he hasn't every washed his hair at a sink.

"Bend over Squalo " Repeated a much deeper raspier voice with a slightly amused tone. The two looked over seeing boss in the door pane.

"VOI WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT GET TE FUCK OUT" Scarlett turned away and blushed .

"Be done with him within the hour, we're leaving, Scum" Scarlett nodded "Yes sir" She turned to Squalo still ranting and going off about what seemed to be nothing now. Pho-chan sighed pushing he man's head into the sink ad cutting the water, shaking her head. "I told yo to bend over Squalo" He was quieted _Finally. _She wet his hair with the rinser and began to massage the manly smelling shampoo in his hair. Sh was gentle wit his follicles, gently she combed through his hair , so that see could only get off his dead hair. . She rinsed the shampoo and did the same process with the conditioner. She rinsed the conditioner and wrapped a towel around his head and sitting him and brushing his hair. She did the task of clipping is split ends despite his bitching about not cutting his hair until Xanxus was boss of the family. _Your hair can only grow properly if you trim the split ends . _She did not dry it though because his hair wasn't strong enough to handle that.

"Let your hair air dry Squalo , already your hair looks a lot cleaner and healthier "She cooed and ran her hair through it. "Silky and smooth " Squalo blushed a slight bit

"Thank you" He grumbled under his breath. Scarlett smiled and laughed jovially Squlo growled. "Voi Scarlett Phobia " Scarlett stopped laughing

"As strategy captain , I outrank you , YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF TAKING CARE OF HAIR , THAT'S ORDER" Scarlett shut one eye and cringed plugging her ear, hoping she wasn't going deaf. She sighed and then smirked. "Yes sir" she says as she turned on her heel "I need t g now Squalo , don't damage your hair wile I"m gone" She runs off in the distant hallway. Her high heels clicking with her.

_Here I sit in my room , my bag packed and only a few minutes to reflect. . This will be my first mission as a Varia officer. As the guardian of Cloud under the command of Xanxus. I need to be strong on this mission and try and contain the impatient attitude of my boss. Also I dont need to embarrass myself in front of him. Also I need to keep my feelings under control . A-and I dot meanmy feelings toward boss , i mean my feelings of humanity ! Yeah that's it , just my feelings of humanity and nothing more... Okay I could probably stop blushing around the guy. I just need to remember I hate guys like him is all ._

* * *

"Scarlett Phobia"

* * *

Pulled away from her thoughts she blushed as he door was swung open. She blushed _So much for remembering I hate guys like him._

"Yes boss" She answered on alert.

" We are leaving out, before we leave for Sicily, we are making a stop at the V.U.A head quarters for our disguises" That made Scarlett go pale. She would be visiting her squad so soon ?

"Yes sir "

* * *

_Oh no .. oh God help me this is going to be a horid experience ._

* * *

"Let's move out " and with that two took their leave , next stop Palmero Italy, site of the Vongola Undercover Assination operations HQ.

* * *

[ A/N

Go ahead shoot me [ no seriously put the gun down OJ ] It's been about 5 or six monthes since I posted and I am really sorry about that , so many things caught me off guard and I was no finally able to finish , I hope you enjoyed it , I appreciate reviews because I would love to know my progress , again I am so sorry my readers and I hope you haven't forgotten me

Sincerely , TW]

Asterisks(*)

Bel was referring to Maury Povich


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